By Cara Sulieman
THE TABLES have turned on a Scottish sculptor in a new exhibition that is all about his work.
Alexander Stoddart has created some of the most memorable public monuments, including statues of David Hume, Adam Smith and the recently unveiled James Clerk Maxwell.
But instead of standing behind the scenes whilst people admire his handiwork, the artist is now fully in the spotlight with the Alexander Stoddart show at the Hunterian Art Gallery.
Shunning his finished product for sketches and terracotta models, the exhibtion focuses on the process of making a sculpture.
Start to finish
There are a huge number of notebook drawings, full working maquettes and scale studies on display, tracing the progress of a major commission from start to finish.
Stoddart, who selected and scripted the show himself, is excited about the project.
He said: “I am thrilled to be given this chance to exhibit work in my beloved city of Glasgow.
“All my earliest dreams of this noble art of sculpture were first cultivated here, in the “Corinth of the North”.
“I am very grateful to the University of Glasgow, my alma mater, for this honour and opportunity.”
The sculptor attended the university in 1983 and was awarded an honorary degree from in 2006.
But his highest title to date was achieved when he was appointed the Sculptor in Ordinary to The Queen last year, after working on the Queen’s Gallery sculpture porgramme in Buckingham Palace between 2000 and 2002.
Stoddart is currently working on the Adam Smith monument for the Royal Mile as well as handling a tide of private comissions.
He is also involved in the raising of a monument to William Gallacher MP in Paisley, a project that has been co-ordinated by the Rt. Hon Tony Benn.
The exhibition runs until September 12 at the Hunterian Art Gallery at Glasgow University.
