DONALD FOXLEY
SCULPTOR
About me
In my garden with the sculpture
'Brief Encounter'.
I took up sculpture in 1992 and it became so important to me that in 1994 I left my career in civil aviation engineering in order to concentrate on it full time.
I create abstract sculptures in which I try to express the beauty that exists in simple shapes: flowing lines, subtly curved edges, negative spaces defined by surrounding forms. This is the opposite of conceptual art: there is no message, you do not have to 'understand' the piece. You either like what you see or you don't.
Sometimes my pieces suggest forms in the real world, perhaps human or animal. Often they are based on things I come across that appeal to me. These are not necessarily conventionally beautiful things in themselves. They may, for example, be discarded items or pieces of machinery. It is a joy to create something worthwhile out of these apparently unpromising origins.
I use various media: the smaller pieces are often in clay or plaster, the larger ones in resin with a surface coat impregnated to resemble a natural material such as stone or metal. I particularly like making large outdoor sculptures based on very small items. I will make a piece in various sizes, developing the form every time.