Ray Haydon - Fluid Dynamics

RAY HAYDON Fluid Dynamics 1 to 27 October 2016

RAY HAYDON Fluid Dynamics 1 to 27 October 2016

This October at Brenda May Gallery, Auckland-based artist Ray Haydon will display new cursive sculptures in his first Australian solo exhibition. Although his oeuvre includes large-scale, outdoor and kinetic sculptures, Fluid Dynamics will primarily focus on Haydon’s smaller scale free-standing and wall-mounted works that create flowing forms from carbon fibre and timber veneer. The twists and turns of these pieces allow them to be viewed from a multitude of angles, each perspective offering an alternate sense of motion and energy. With smooth contours and seamless finishes, the sculptures of Ray Haydon are not complicated or chaotic, rather these curling interventions in space embody fluidity via their clarity of form, the transformation of materials and the Artist’s impeccable articulation.

▶ ARTIST STATEMENT 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. He does not make sketches or expend excessive time planning his works in general. Instead, the process is a playful and experimental – forms are arranged and remade in an improvisational manner.

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’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. Pieces remain light and airy, reflecting the artist’s desire to trace lines, rather than stamp out monuments.

Ray Haydon, ‘Fluid III’ 2016, carbon fibre and American White Oak veneer, 62 x 210 x 20cm

Ray Haydon, ‘Fluid VIII’ 2016, carbon fibre and American Walnut veneer, 40 x 105 x 20cm

Ray Haydon, ‘Fluid IV’ 2016, carbon fibre and American White Oak veneer, 115 x 120 x 25cm

Ray Haydon, ‘Fluid V’ 2016, carbon fibre and Walnut veneer, 34 x 150 x 20cm

Ray Haydon, ‘Fluid VI’ 2016, carbon fibre and Walnut veneer, 120 x 24 x 25cm

Ray Haydon, ‘Fluid VII’ 2016, carbon fibre and American White Oak veneer, 36 x 48 x 27cm

Ray Haydon, ‘Fluid XII’ 2016, carbon fibre and American White Oak veneer, basalt base, 124 x 35 x 25cm

Ray Haydon, ‘Fluid IX’ 2016, carbon fibre and Walnut veneer, 120 x 85 x 30cm

Ray Haydon, ‘Fluid X’ 2016, carbon fibre and American White Oak veneer, 100 x 70 x 30cm

Ray Haydon, ‘Fluid XI’ 2016, carbon fibre and American White Oak veneer, 165 x 60 x 25cm

B R E N D A M AY

G A L L E R Y

2 D a n k s S t r e e t Wa t e r l o o N S W A u s t r a l i a 2 0 1 7 www.brendamaygallery.com.au info@brendamaygallery.com.au tuesday - friday 11-6 saturday 10-6 t. 02 9318 1122