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AUGUSTE RODIN

Press

AUGUSTE RODIN AT THE HAY HILL GALLERY

A superb collection of some of the most iconic pieces of the famed sculptor Auguste Rodin is currently on exhibition at the Hay Hill Gallery at 23 Cork Street in Mayfair. Among the collection of posthumous casts are such iconic works as The Thinker, The Kiss, Eve, Age of Bronze, Balzac, along with many other well-known sculptures.

The noted Rodin Scholar Albert Elsen considered the posthumous recasting of the sculptor's work as part of the natural evolution in the sculptures' life. The exhibition on display shows that it is once again possible to capture the essence of the artist's life accomplishments.

Auguste Rodin is generally considered the most important sculptor of the 19th century and the father of modern sculpture. His style and technique opened the doors for such artists as Alberto Giacometti and Henry Moore by breaking traditional moulds and ideas in sculpture. Born to a family of modest means in 1840 in Paris, France he rose to win five of France's largest commissions for monuments in the years 1880s and 1890s.

Since his death in 1917, he has become a legend. His passion for life and women are expressed in his unparallel oeuvre. His tragic affair with Camille Claudel formed a heartbreak that saw Rodin seek relationships on many levels with a host of female artists, dancers, models and aristocratic personalities of his time.

Rodin was deeply committed to these erotic liaisons which formed the primary core of his creativity. He had an unparalleled gift for modelling in clay. His figures express movement, strength and passion. Rodin transformed this passion most notably in a human form into thousands of small and grand works which has been unequalled to this day.

The beginning stages of his work often involved a sketch which was transformed into clay using life models as reference. From the clay which would disintegrate over time a negative mould is made in which is then cast a plaster. The plaster then becomes the basis for the casting in bronze or sculpting in stone.

Rodin's position is now guaranteed in the pantheon of greatest artists of Western tradition and you now have the opportunity to view over 50 and acquire some of his greatest achievements at the Hay Hill Gallery.

Hay Hill Gallery, 23 Cork Street, Mayfair, London W1S 3NJ. Telephone 020 7734 7010, www.hayhill.com

'TIME AND TIDE' AND 'BELOVED LIGHT' PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITIONS

There is also a last opportunity this weekend to see Time and Tide', a joint show of the most recent work by internationally recognised London-based Russian photographers Al Lapkovsky and Katya Evdokimova. This show will run at the Hay Hill Gallery until 18 July.

Both Lapkovsky and Evdokimova have won many photographic awards including Professional Photographer of the Year.

'Beloved Light' is a photographic show exhibiting the world-renowned Mario Carrieri's black and white works. Carrieri's work has been featured in more than 300 books.

Also exhibiting will be two other international photographers, Iris Thorsteindottir and Silja Truus. These exhibitions will run at the Hay Hill Gallery until 15 August.