RAY HAYDON
PASSAGE
2 November to 28 November 2021
This new body of work, as it’s title Passage suggests, is a continuation of Ray Haydon’s distinctive sculptural practice of working with various mediums. In his masterful approach, Haydon never loses the urge for development and experimentation, pushing his familiar materials into new and transformative outcomes.
Haydon surprises us with a jewel-toned deep purple wall sculpture entitled Passage, a monumental dynamic and fluid artwork using carbon fibre for lightness and strength.
Exhibitions
RE-ORIENT
Ray Haydon's 2020 exhibition Re-orient coincides with the artist's 70th birthday and his 15th year with Sanderson.
This exhibition showcases Haydon's incredible craftsmanship and includes both his wall sculptures, indoor/outdoor sculptures, and his impressive kinetic works.
10 November to 06 December 2020
FREEFORM
12 November to 01 December 2019
Negative space is defined by the solid objects it surrounds.
This is one of the physical aspects of Ray Haydon’s
sculptural practice that really matters; he is actively
“painting” the air with materials to fabricate constructions in space.
Each work is a suspension of the materials in time and space and we are privy to viewing the kinetic rhythms of the basic perceptions of real time. This is no mean feat: because for solid materials to appear this way, there must be an intimate knowledge of the peculiarity of the materials for each work.
ACHROMATIC
06 November to 25 November 2018
Ray Haydon is known as a master of materials- he seemingly effortlessly sculpts fluid forms from the most rigid and unforgiving materials. ‘Achromatic’ sees Haydon, as the title suggests, focus on recent developments in black and white acrylic finishes to carbon fibre relief sculptures. Each sculpture’s surface is embedded with tiny filaments of glass creating a variance and activation of the work in changing light situations. The suite of works in the exhibition are designed to withstand the elements and can hang in exterior spaces as well as gracing the interior.
REVERB
07 November to 26 November 2017
Sculptor Ray Haydon creates sinuous linear forms that respond to space, on a monumental and domestic scale, using an extensive variety of materials. Haydon uses the form of sculpture with its multiple vantage points to create his drawings in space. These open networks of linear abstract formations range from colossal outdoor sculptures to intimately scaled works for the interior. Through this unconventional use of sculpture, Haydon is able to draw organically in three dimensions. His work can be likened to the large-scale steel Abstract Expressionist works of eminent sculptor David Smith (1906-1965). Haydon’s current practice comprises a curving and rounding of form that is more fluid than some of his previously hard-edged angular works.
CADENCE
06 September to 25 September 2016
Mention carbon fibre and most people think of the solid, utilitarian forms of racing yachts and supercars. Parnell-based sculptor Ray Haydon sees a completely different potential – the ability to make fine art.
After several decades of a successful career working in bronze, wood, stainless steel, aluminum and Corten steel crafting a range of indoor and outdoor works, Haydon’s exploration into the properties of carbon fibre has opened up a whole new area of imagery.
“Imagine a ribbon thrown in the air, the way it loops and curves, that’s the effect I’m trying to achieve,” says Haydon of the light, curvaceous sculptural forms created for a new show at Sanderson Contemporary in Newmarket this September. The show, entitled Cadence, presents a series of wall-mounted sculptures made from a carbon fibre core sheathed in wood veneer. The effect is of a moment of frozen motion captured in incredibly light, flexible forms. The works appear to float on the wall, attached with slim steel fixings, where they throw bold shadows in the passing light of day or under artificial light.
The works are made from up to 7.5m of carbon fibre which is elegantly looped and furled into a finished artwork sometimes more than 2m wide. “The beauty of this material is that it holds its form, any other material would be too heavy,” says Haydon.
Through laborious work and constant experimentation Ray Haydon has developed processes to generate a seamless elegance in his sculpture, curving linear materials to create fluid forms that appear to be in flux. Working directly into his chosen medium, or sometimes mapping out ideas with maquettes, Haydon lets his fascination with movement and fluidity play out in abstract expressionist sculptures on both monumental and intimate scales.
According to Ananda Coomaraswamy“Beauty is the attractive power of perfection”; and it isbeauty in this sense that is pivotal in Haydon’s practice. We all value beauty, yet contemporary art seems to negate traditional ideals of beauty as a worthy value system. However, achieving perfection is inseparable from achieving technical mastery; and, while clearly art need not only be beautiful (or beautiful at all), the wholesale rejection of beauty can also mean negating the value of the sometimes strenuous labour that goes into the choice to strive towards that ideal.
Ray Haydon relishes the challenges that come with his particular approach to beauty in his art. His sophisticated technical understanding has arisen over his long career of making and producing, spanning nearly 50 years. During that time he has been a jeweller, industrial designer, maker of bespoke parts for super yachts, and an artist. Throughout all his different experiences he was developing the skills which are now integral to his art practice, affording him a uniquely varied approach to material manipulation.
With his impressive workshop of hand-made tools and years of developing techniques, Haydon is able to fabricate kinetic, outdoor, and indoor sculpture, bending various seemingly unbendable materials with perceived ease. This can be seen in Untitled (2015); stainless steel bent and moulded into a fluid form with any signs of ‘making’hidden from view. This immovable object gains a sense of movement; it is as if the steel’s original form becomes a distant memory; the new shape he creates becomes its natural state of being.
NEW WORK
25 August to 13 September 2015
VOLUME
09 September to 28 September 2014
Sculptor Ray Haydon creates sinuous linear forms that respond to space, on a monumental and domestic scale, using an extensive variety of materials. Haydon uses the form of sculpture with its multiple vantage points to create his drawings in space. These open networks of linear abstract formations range from colossal outdoor sculptures to intimately scaled works for the interior. Through this unconventional use of sculpture, Haydon is able to draw organically in three dimensions. His work can be likened to the large-scale steel Abstract Expressionist works of eminent sculptor David Smith (1906-1965). Haydon’s current practice comprises a curving and rounding of form that is more fluid than some of his previously hard-edged angular works.
A key attribute of sculpture is that it is in constant conversation with its environment. Rather than aiming for a replication of nature, Haydon is concerned with the creation of forms that are pared back, encompassing a sense of the essence of nature and movement.
Haydon is currently working extensively with kinetic sculpture; works imbued with movement, and the ability to respond to the wind in innumerable shifting formations. Rather than looking at a static sculpture, the viewer is engaged in a dialogue with the organically animated work, as with Haydon’s recent monumental carbon fibre worksVesper andVela. Multiple pivot points enable Vela to split into separately moving sections, like a giant sail dwarfing viewers in its swiveling shadow. Vela references its southern constellation namesake, meaning the sails. Vesper,as its title suggests, arcs majestically towards the heavens. Vesper and Vela curl in a lyrical manner, their simplicity of line reminiscent of the work of seminal sculptor Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957).
Ray Haydon responds intuitively to space, creating works of refinement and precision. His pieces retain a lyricism and freedom of line that belie the emphasis on technical process and exactitude which go into their making.
Haydon creates his forms by imagining the broad approach he wishes to take, then mapping the works in 3 dimensions. For larger kinetic pieces he produces maquettes, however, he does not make sketches or expend excessive time planning his works in general. Instead, the process is playful and experimental – forms are arranged, dismantled and remade in an improvisational manner. In this way, some works are retained, while others are simply returned to the materials pile.
In contrast to Haydon’s intuitive and spontaneous approach to creating visual forms, he devotes much time and energy investigating the engineering required to make his pieces successful. The artist has borrowed fabrication technologies from a vast array of sources, including boat building, jewellery design, model making and fine furniture construction. In some cases he has invented and built machinery and equipment to allow him to create pieces in his preferred material. The importance of this approach cannot be overstated: it is Haydon’s willingness to find answers to any technical problem that has resulted in the range of unique processes that the artist now has at his disposal.
Haydon is currently fascinated with kinetic sculptures that act as organic entities in space. The constantly changing appearance of the kinetic work creates a dynamic relationship between the sculpture, the space and the viewer. The artist covets this increased engagement with the viewer - they must watch the piece, rather than simplylook at it. Haydon likens this to the difference between looking at an unmoving object such as a tree and watching the activity of birds in that same tree.
Haydon’s sculptures operate on a number of aesthetic and physical levels resulting in multiple vantage points. They appear lithe and supple, enlivening space, rather than overwhelming it. The scale of the works has increased over the past 5 years moving from 40cm bronze to 5 metre steel sculptures. The larger proportions mean the reach of the work is increased and as such encompasses a larger viewing area. However the physical bulk of the works has not increased – pieces remain light and airy, reflecting the artist’s desire to trace lines, rather than stamp out monuments.
30 July to 18 August 2013
VELORUM
The movement of line through space is the motivating force behind the work of sculptor Ray Haydon. His works are rhythmic, improvisational and free, expressing a sense of effortlessness and vitality that belies the rigorous process of their making, and their often immense physical presence. New kinetic work in carbon fibre presented in C6 – which borrows its title from the chemical symbol for carbon – demonstrates Haydon’s intuitive response to space and his notable commitment to development and experimentation within his practice.
Haydon’s ongoing exploration of sculpture has seen him produce increasingly innovative work as a result of his unwillingness to compromise artistic vision for the sake of convenience. Haydon investigates and pioneers new materials, forms and methods, employing a vast repository of technical skills gained through decades of work in various areas of industrial design. This background provides him with the expertise to produce entirely new methods of fabrication; developing new machines and techniques to enable him to produce his work exactly as he imagines it.
The time and energy devoted to investigating the engineering required to make his pieces successful is contra to the intuitive and spontaneous approach that Haydon employs in the creation of visual forms. Haydon rarely uses process sketches, working directly with his chosen medium and piecing together forms in response to imagined shapes and compositions. His mastery of technical processes – anticipating ahead of time any engineering concerns – allows for a free-flow of ideas; Haydon’s forms are distinctively lively and spontaneous. These pieces retain a lyricism and freedom of line that belie the emphasis on technical process and exactitude which go into their making.
With substantial experience in creating innovative sculpture in steel and wood, Haydon was drawn to the possibilities presented by the extremely light and durable medium of carbon fibre. Possessing a unique strength-to-weight ratio, these works in carbon fibre respond to subtle wind variations far more receptively than works in other, heavier, mediums. This increased sensitivity to external movement has led Haydon to employ multiple pivot-points, which allow for the creation of increasingly complex and ever-changing forms; animated organically by their shifting environment. Works such as Pyxis and Hydra reveal constantly changing and almost infinite forms; they act as organic entities in space, operating on a number of aesthetic and physical levels that creates a dynamic relationship between the sculpture, the space and the viewer.
Thus, the natural environment provides a key influence for Haydon in the development of his forms; this is evident in both his kinetic work and, less directly, with his static sculpture. C6 includes new work in mahogany and copper, other facets of Haydon’s ever-growing practice. The idea of motion and transformation is evident in these works, which, though constant, possess a similar sense of movement as his kinetic work. Whether spiralling rings of mahogany or coiling strips of stainless steel or copper, these pieces draw the eye along a rhythmic path with no fixed start or end point, establishing a sense of momentum that constantly engages and mystifies the viewer.
C6 reveals Haydon’s primary interest in the evocative properties of line in three-dimensional sculpture, explored and re-explored throughout his career of constant experimentation. His dedication to the physical engineering of his concepts continues to allow him to consistently create innovative, rhythmic works that enliven, rather than overpower, space.
C6 - NEW KINETIC WORK
25/09/2012 to 14/10/2012
ZENITH
23/08/2011 to 11/09/2011
The movement of line through space is the motivating force behind the work of sculptor Ray Haydon. His works are rhythmic, improvisational and free, expressing a sense of effortlessness and vitality that belies their often immense physical presence.
Haydon’s most recent work explores the ideas of motion and transformation; whether spiralling rings of mahogany or interstitially composed strips of copper, these pieces draw the eye along a rhythmic path with no fixed start or end point, establishing a sense of momentum. Free-standing Flux works are similarly rhythmic and repetitive, but also invite the viewer to engage with the piece by moving around it.
Presenting increasingly complex and dynamic forms, the artist’s new work continues to be keenly influenced by the natural environment, developing these forms in organic and asymmetrical ways.
Zenith, a new work in Corten weathering steel extends Haydon’s style in a new direction, offering a more architecturally active composition. Pointed steel lances are fused together in a somewhat chaotic yet balanced composition, which creates a sense of motion in multiple directions, rather than the suggestion of controlled movement.
Haydon employs an experimental process in the creation of new works, piecing together forms in response to imagined shapes and compositions. Unlike many sculptors, drawing does not play a role in the composition of the works; Haydon proceeds directly from his conception of the form to three-dimensional modelling. Haydon’s attention is generally focused not on preliminary refinements to his aesthetic choices but on the problems of engineering raised by the new designs.
Haydon is not a formally trained artist, having instead gained a vast repository of technical skills through decades of work in various areas of industrial design. This background has also provided him with the expertise to produce entirely new methods of fabrication, developing new machines and techniques to enable him to produce his work exactly as he imagines it. This process, coupled with Haydon’s unwillingness to compromise artistic vision for the sake of convenience, has allowed him to produce increasingly innovative works.
Haydon’s new work reveals his enduring interest in the evocative properties of line in three-dimensional sculpture, perfected over his career of constant experimentation. His dedication to the physical engineering of his concepts has allowed the artist to create consistently innovative, rhythmic works that enliven, rather than overpower, space.
SUPERSTRUCTURE
24/08/2010 to 12/09/2010
Ray Haydon is a vocational artist whose practice continues to develop in fresh ingenious ways. The work in his upcoming exhibition Superstructure maintains an immaculate sense of proportion together with an ongoing investigation of space, light, and form.
Haydon’s most recent explorations involve interpretation of 20th-century modernism in architecture, painting, and sculpture. Working in highly innovative ways with copper, cedar and American white oak, Haydon explores the potential of positive and negative space. Importantly his new work emphasizes simple horizontals and verticals which are organized asymmetrically within an overall theme of harmony and balance.
As a sculptor, Haydon is interested in revealing the infinite possibilities his materials offer. What excites him is confronting the raw state of the material and its slow transformation into a complex arrangement of light, space, and shadow.
The highly finished works he creates demonstrate the artist’s intuitive understanding of the materials he chooses and the properties they each offer up.
Haydon’s deep appreciation of materials accounts for the visually refined and physically tactile presentation of the works. They invite and reward both contemplation and touch; in this sense the works are engaging, revealing much more than is offered upon first viewing.
Untitled 2010 is a key work in the exhibition. The sculpture is made up of identical rods of white American oak, representing multiples of a 32mm unit measurement. While symmetry is a function of the identical measurements (as are the resulting spatial recesses) their placement throughout the 500mm labyrinthine box appears random. This reflects the artist’s process of forming works intuitively rather than from a pre-determined template. Even though Haydon’s cube is assembled rod by rod, in his mind’s eye he envisions a solid block before him from which geometrical sections are 'removed’ until the aesthetic sought reveals itself in the final form.
Within an aesthetic characterized by stability, monumentality and technical rigor the impeccable alignment and impact of innumerable horizontals and verticals (often cantilevering beyond non-existent corners and bases) Haydon articulates the interstitial spaces within his forms with quiet confidence.