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James Castle: First Light

Past viewing_room
11 September - 17 October 2021
  • James Castle

    First Light

  • James Castle RSA is a Scottish sculptor living and working in Wiltshire. Born in Aberdeen in 1946, Castle studied at Ealing School of Art, Winchester School of Art and the Royal College of Art, London. As well as exhibiting his own work widely, Castle has curated exhibitions of sculpture, most notably at Gloucester Cathedral and Malmesbury Abbey. He was also Senior Lecturer in Sculpture and Fine Art at the University of Gloucestershire. In 2005 Castle was elected an Associate Member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors and in 2008 he was elected a Royal Scottish Academician. Castle’s work is featured in public collections including Aberdeen Art Gallery; Strathclyde University, Glasgow; Highland Council, Inverness; and the Royal Scottish Academy.
     
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    • James Castle RSA Daybreak Painted limewood 99 x 55 x 26 cm
      James Castle RSA
      Daybreak
      Painted limewood
      99 x 55 x 26 cm
      £ 7,000.00
    • James Castle RSA First Light Solid resin and hardwood 58 x 30 x 30 cm
      James Castle RSA
      First Light
      Solid resin and hardwood
      58 x 30 x 30 cm
      £ 2,500.00
    • James Castle RSA Study for First Light Mixed media on paper 29 x 21 cm 61 x 51 cm framed
      James Castle RSA
      Study for First Light
      Mixed media on paper
      29 x 21 cm
      61 x 51 cm framed
      £ 650.00
    • James Castle RSA Study for Daybreak Mixed media on paper 32 x 20 cm 61 x 51 cm framed
      James Castle RSA
      Study for Daybreak
      Mixed media on paper
      32 x 20 cm
      61 x 51 cm framed
      £ 700.00
    • James Castle RSA Charcoal Tree Mixed media on paper 32 x 20 cm 61 x 51 cm framed
      James Castle RSA
      Charcoal Tree
      Mixed media on paper
      32 x 20 cm
      61 x 51 cm framed
      £ 600.00
    • James Castle RSA Pink Dawn Mixed media 32 x 20 cm 49 x 41 cm framed
      James Castle RSA
      Pink Dawn
      Mixed media
      32 x 20 cm
      49 x 41 cm framed
      £ 600.00
    • James Castle RSA A Peep at Dawn Bronze 56 x 30 x 25 cm
      James Castle RSA
      A Peep at Dawn
      Bronze
      56 x 30 x 25 cm
      Sold
    • James Castle RSA Studio Bronze 77 x 20 x 24 cm
      James Castle RSA
      Studio
      Bronze
      77 x 20 x 24 cm
      £ 6,500.00
    • James Castle RSA Lift Mixed media on paper 33 x 28 cm 61 x 51 framed
      James Castle RSA
      Lift
      Mixed media on paper
      33 x 28 cm
      61 x 51 framed
      £ 700.00
    • James Castle RSA Resting Cloud Mixed media on paper 32 x 20 cm 61 x 51 cm framed
      James Castle RSA
      Resting Cloud
      Mixed media on paper
      32 x 20 cm
      61 x 51 cm framed
      Sold
    • James Castle RSA Sisters Mixed media on paper 32 x 20 cm 61 x 51 cm framed
      James Castle RSA
      Sisters
      Mixed media on paper
      32 x 20 cm
      61 x 51 cm framed
      Sold
    • James Castle RSA Sleep Mixed media on paper 32 x 20 cm 61 x 51 cm framed
      James Castle RSA
      Sleep
      Mixed media on paper
      32 x 20 cm
      61 x 51 cm framed
      £ 700.00
    • James Castle RSA Beneath the Hill Painted limewood and jesmonite 51 x 66 x 30 cm
      James Castle RSA
      Beneath the Hill
      Painted limewood and jesmonite
      51 x 66 x 30 cm
      £ 6,000.00
    • James Castle RSA Teetering Tree Painted jesmonite and hardwood 46 x 43 x 38 cm
      James Castle RSA
      Teetering Tree
      Painted jesmonite and hardwood
      46 x 43 x 38 cm
      £ 3,500.00
    • James Castle RSA Pitch Black Mixed media on paper 33 x 28 cm 61 x 51 cm framed
      James Castle RSA
      Pitch Black
      Mixed media on paper
      33 x 28 cm
      61 x 51 cm framed
      £ 700.00
    • James Castle RSA Study for A Peep at Dawn Mixed media on paper 35 x 28 cm 61 x 51 framed
      James Castle RSA
      Study for A Peep at Dawn
      Mixed media on paper
      35 x 28 cm
      61 x 51 framed
      £ 700.00
    • James Castle RSA Wind at Westacott Mixed media on paper 33 x 28 cm 61 x 51 cm framed
      James Castle RSA
      Wind at Westacott
      Mixed media on paper
      33 x 28 cm
      61 x 51 cm framed
      Sold
    • James Castle RSA Touching Mixed media on paper 34 x 28 cm 49 x 41 cm framed
      James Castle RSA
      Touching
      Mixed media on paper
      34 x 28 cm
      49 x 41 cm framed
      £ 700.00
    • James Castle RSA Autumn Studio Painted jesmonite and hardwood 52 x 41.5 x 22 cm
      James Castle RSA
      Autumn Studio
      Painted jesmonite and hardwood
      52 x 41.5 x 22 cm
      £ 3,500.00
    • James Castle RSA Torryburn No More Painted limewood and resin 234 x 25 cm
      James Castle RSA
      Torryburn No More
      Painted limewood and resin
      234 x 25 cm
      £ 9,000.00
    • James Castle RSA Catapult Painted limewood 48 x 30 x 19 cm
      James Castle RSA
      Catapult
      Painted limewood
      48 x 30 x 19 cm
      £ 6,000.00
    • James Castle RSA Tulip Head Painted resin and hardwood 33 x 36 x 36 cm
      James Castle RSA
      Tulip Head
      Painted resin and hardwood
      33 x 36 x 36 cm
      £ 4,500.00
    • James Castle RSA Study for Beneath the Hill Mixed media on paper 29 x 21 cm 61 x 51 cm framed
      James Castle RSA
      Study for Beneath the Hill
      Mixed media on paper
      29 x 21 cm
      61 x 51 cm framed
      £ 650.00
    • James Castle RSA Side by Side Mixed media on paper 32 x 20 cm 61 x 51 cm framed
      James Castle RSA
      Side by Side
      Mixed media on paper
      32 x 20 cm
      61 x 51 cm framed
      Sold
    • James Castle RSA Glider Mixed media on paper 33 x 28 cm 61 x 51 cm framed
      James Castle RSA
      Glider
      Mixed media on paper
      33 x 28 cm
      61 x 51 cm framed
      £ 650.00
    • James Castle RSA Chrysalis Mixed media on paper 32 x 20 cm 61 x 51 cm framed
      James Castle RSA
      Chrysalis
      Mixed media on paper
      32 x 20 cm
      61 x 51 cm framed
      £ 600.00
    • James Castle RSA Silver Darlings Painted limewood 47 x 35 x 19 cm
      James Castle RSA
      Silver Darlings
      Painted limewood
      47 x 35 x 19 cm
      £ 7,000.00
    • James Castle RSA Bouquet Painted limewood 60 x 28 x 20 cm
      James Castle RSA
      Bouquet
      Painted limewood
      60 x 28 x 20 cm
      £ 6,000.00
    • James Castle RSA Good Morning Hughie Jesmonite and hardwood 40 x 21 x 16 cm
      James Castle RSA
      Good Morning Hughie
      Jesmonite and hardwood
      40 x 21 x 16 cm
      £ 2,000.00
  • Artist's Statement Artist's Statement

    The work in this exhibition has a theme running through it, which has been common to most of my work for years, where the conscious and subconscious worlds intermingle; where the imagination and memories of actual events or places cross over, and where any of these elements have the potential to become ingredients that come together to make a sculpture.


    The times of day when these elements seem to be at their most vivid is at daybreak and at dusk, often when we are coming out of sleep or going into it. We can experience strong feelings such as alarm, relief or pleasure as we awake and our minds adjust to conscious reality. Dreams, good and bad can exemplify this state of mind. This explains to some degree the surreal nature of the work, where the lines between the real and the unreal disappear into sculptures that always have a degree of chance embodied in them, as in a game of chess or draughts, and where formal and structural concerns are central to the organisation of the forms. There is usually a narrative, but that narrative could be as seemingly elusive as a piece of music by Eric Satie.

  • The starting points of all the images are personal, whether observed, dreamt, imagined or experienced, for example the destruction by fire of a much-loved place from my youth, the Torryburn Hotel in Aberdeenshire. Interestingly and purely by chance, as I have worked through this body of work topical issues such as the importance of trees in the landscape in this climatically changing world have emerged: the toppling of trees, the burning of trees, the negative effects of emissions in the form of reoccurring images of smoke and cloud on the landscape. This is an example of how the imagery in work that is drawn from the personal can evoke a much broader, shared experience of the world we live in: a collective subconscious. This is only one aspect of one or two of the works in the exhibition, and as we know applying words and meaning to visual art can be problematic.


    The drawings in the exhibition express the ideas and potential for the sculpture and are worked through in the same way that sculpture is, with chance and accident playing a major role.

The Academicians' Gallery

Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture

The Mound
Edinburgh

EH2 2EL

Opening Hours

Monday - Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 12pm - 5pm

Contact

+44(0)131 624 6556
academiciansgallery@royalscottishacademy.org

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