Ricky Swallow

MAGNIFYING GLASS WITH ROPE NO. 6

2015
patinated bronze and oil paint
10 1/2 x 8 1/4 x 4 inches

My work has always essentially been about translation, passing a subject through various processes on the way to a fixed or permanent state, with each different material influencing the creation of new forms. – Ricky Swallow

In Magnifying Glass With Rope No. 6, Ricky Swallow twists our perception in a number of ways. The magnifying glass is, in fact, made of cardboard tubes cast in bronze. Swallow then plays with the space inside the ring by inserting a larger piece of rope to create a visual trick of magnification. Many of Swallow’s bronze works begin as humble materials that, through the artist’s playful transformations, become keen observations on everyday life. Swallow represented Australia at the 2005 Venice Biennale, and his work has been exhibited in the US and abroad.

and stuart shave modern art, london