Exposition Art Blog: Lenton Parr - Abstract Sculpture

Lenton Parr - Abstract Sculpture

Lenton Parr (11 September 1924 – 8 August 2003) was an Australian sculptor and teacher.Born in East Coburg, Victoria Lenton Parr spent eight years in the Royal Australian Air Force before enrolling to study sculpture at the Royal Melbourne Technical College (now RMIT University), then worked in England 1955–57 as an assistant to Henry Moore. There he was influenced by Reg Butler and Eduardo Paolozzi to work with enamelled steel structures, which was to become his lifelong specialty. After his return to Melbourne he showed at Peter Bray Gallery in 1957, and embarked on a career in art education which culminated in his appointment as director (1974–84) of the Victorian College of the Arts.
"The 1960s and 1970s were significant decades in the development of Australian sculpture. Hard Edge: Abstract Sculpture 1960s–70s focuses on abstract forms produced during this period by local artists such as Tony Coleing, Inge King, Clement Meadmore, Lenton Parr and Ron Robertson-Swann drawn from the National Gallery of Victoria’s permanent collection. The works’ burnished, polished, often brightly painted and welded industrial forms marked a departure from preceding trends in sculpture, signalling a new period of experimentation.While practised consistently in Australia since the nineteenth century, until the postwar period sculpture was often eclipsed in this country by developments in painting. Artists had traditionally carved in stone or wood, and cast in bronze; however, the liberation felt after the Second World War and increased time spent by Australian artists in England and the United States were rejuvenating forces. Many sculptors began to employ constructive techniques mirroring advancements in technology and engineering to create works that incorporated regular geometric forms and smooth curves. When painted, their experimental formalist sculptures were in flat, even colours; when left unfinished, the forms were often industrial in appearance."(ngv.vic.gov.au)














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