Group of sculptors create unique gallery in Leeds

“When we came out of lockdown I decided to try to get an exhibition together to give people a bit of a boost,” says Iredale, a former engineer who retired in December 2019 to take up sculpting full-time. “It is really because of lockdown that all this has happened.” He approached sculptors he already knew as well as putting a call out for exhibitors and organised a pop-up sculpture show downstairs in the Corn Exchange last October, featuring the work of 16 sculptors.

The idea of a permanent gallery grew from there. “The pop-up ran for ten days and by the end of that we thought: wouldn’t it be nice to be here all the time?”

The six artists in the group, some of whom knew each other previously and others who came on board through the pop-up, then approached the Corn Exchange to see if there was a suitable unit available.

What they were offered is ideal as a gallery space – it has lots of natural light and is of a size that is big enough to give the artwork room to breathe and small enough to feel intimate and welcoming.

The collective moved in at the beginning of March, spent the next five weeks decorating and launched in April. The response so far has been very positive.

“We have had a lot of support and people seem to be thrilled with it,” says Long. “We have had some lovely comments in our visitors’ book. A lot of people are saying that we need this in Leeds – there aren’t many galleries selling work in the city.”

The gallery is also unusual in that it focuses solely on sculpture; according to Iredale, it is the only one of its kind outside of London.

The artists take it in turns to be at the gallery for a full week, on a six-week rota. It means they share the responsibility of running and managing the space, while leaving a substantial five-week block of time to concentrate on their creative practice.

“As a model it works well,” says Williams. “We are all new to this but we are all supporting each other. I feel as though I’ve made five really good new friends.”

Having the artists actually in the gallery also makes the experience for visitors richer – they have the opportunity to find out more about the work from the artists first-hand.

“People are really interested in talking to you,” says Pendle Hayes. “For us it is great to talk to people about what motivated you to make a particular piece and for them the sculpture becomes a living piece, with a story.”

In addition to their own work, the collective also invite guest artists to exhibit in the gallery every month.

“It means for visitors there is always something new to see but we also wanted to give other sculptors a chance to show their work,” says Long. “It is an opportunity to give artists, especially those at the start of their careers, some exposure.”

As a group, the collective’s work ranges widely in style, approach, scale and materials – there are sculptures made in wood, stone, glass, metal, ceramic. The artists also have varied levels of experience – some of them have been full-time artists for many years, others have made the switch more recently from a different career. Each has an interesting back story to share.

Pendle Hayes was a video producer before following a long-held interest and studying Fine Arts after being made redundant. When her husband died, she relocated from Cambridge to Leeds to be nearer her daughter.

She moved to Farsley, got a studio at Sunny Bank Mills and has not looked back.

“I have been working full-time as a ceramicist since 2007,” she says. “I use the human form as inspiration – and I love the fact that the kiln always has the last word in ceramics.”

Long has been a full-time artist for 20 years.

“Initially my work was about sport, inspired by the grassroots football and rugby that my sons were playing,” she says. “It is still inspired by movement and I do quite a lot of work with dance companies now. I work mainly in ceramic or sometimes glass and I am mostly inspired by movement and human behaviour. I had a successful series recently based on a hug – that came out of Covid and lots of people have bought it; I think it resonates.”

Sunter had a corporate career for 25 years before taking redundancy in 2019.

“I decided to do something completely new,” he says. “I have been carving on and off for about ten years. I always wanted to be an architect and I love architectural forms – brutalism, futurism, cubism. I like strong lines and striking shapes. My current inspirations are Greek mythology and brutalism – I am working on distorted sculptures, sort of modernist grotesques on steel legs.”

Iredale was still working as an engineer when he enrolled on wood carving and stone carving courses at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

“As an engineer by trade, I was always interested in 3D so it suited me,” he says. “I work in stone and wood, nearly all my sculptures are based on or inspired by the human form and although I have occasionally experimented with abstraction, most of my work is figurative.”

Williams discovered stone carving through a workshop at Glastonbury Festival in 2017.

“I loved the whole process of working in stone,” he says. “The following year I bought some tools and got some stone delivered and in 2020 during the pandemic I decided to give up my job. I was in electronic engineering and worked in telecoms all my life. I got out, and I am loving it. I am immersing myself in a different way of thinking. My themes are faces and forms. I feel extremely lucky that I can spend my life doing this.”

Donnelly is combining his artistic practice with a career as a senior mental health specialist social worker.

“I am inspired by all areas of my life but specifically the themes of mental health and the human condition dominate my work,” he says. “I love exploring the vast spectrum of human emotion and personality. I often turn to dreamlike imagery to prompt an emotional response from the viewer; I love to leave the door open to allow for individual interpretation.”

The gallery has already attracted repeat visitors, there are featured guest artists programmed through to the end of December, with a big group show scheduled for the festive season, and there are also plans for open calls to artists and a potential collaboration with another art group in Leeds next year. It’s clearly a new creative venture with a bright future.

The Sculpture Gallery at Leeds Corn Exchange is open Tuesday-Saturday 10am-5.30pm and 10am-4.30pm on Sundays. www.thesculpturegallery.co.uk