Janet MacLeod
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Janet MacLeod's work is by turns beautiful,
sensuous, tactile and moving. Drawing her inspiration for line, shape
and form from the natural world, she coaxes from metal and stone
timeless forms that either intertwine and interact with one another in
an endless dance of joy, or open and unfold to reveal layer upon layer
of hidden meaning. All her works are imbued with a sense of calm and peace yet, one is always aware of the power within them. The organism that gave birth to each piece - whether flower, fruit, seed, animal or person - forever remains a part of it, giving it eternal life. Janet MacLeod's sculptures are truly nature into art, full of happiness and hope. Professor David Ingram OBE ScD FRSE Master St Catharine's College Cambridge |
Look at these works and then pause for a moment
- it is impossible not to. The work of sculptor Janet MacLeod has a
quality that stills the spirit. This is balanced with a feeling of
living things - and perhaps also the organic growth and decay that is
the inevitable cycle of life. The shapes and intricate structures of
seeds and other plant forms are a strong source of inspiration. They are
observed from Nature but are treated to a degree of abstraction which
places Janet into the expressive 20th century tradition of Hepworth and
Moore. Janet works in the studio in her home, a 17th-century farm house near Cambridge, which she restored with her husband John, a plant scientist; the process of putting the house back together and trying to preserve its texture and the story of its life and materials, itself played a role in her transition from painting to sculpture. Today, Janet works in bronze, silver, marble and slate and achieves a wide range of expression and textural effect in all these materials. Her work is crafted - carefully, meticulously so - and we feel some of her sense of dialogue and the artist's every mark. Her sculptures have a physical presence which commands our attention, but also communicates a sense of spiritual inevitability and calm. Jeremy Musson Art critic, writer and broadcaster |