ROD Sculpture

Patinated Bronze Vessel, 1/1, part of Echeia collection Martin Siedek - ‘Echeia’ by Marcus Bo Lanyon ‘I feel sorry for other sculptures that can’t be touched,’ Siedek tells me as we examine his recent series of bronze vessels. I peer into them - dark, seemingly infinite interiors that invite curiosity, their rims a gleaming contrast of polished, golden bronze. This tactile quality is vital in his work, where they exist ‘to be held and paid attention to’, an invitation I cannot resist. The vessels are weighty and heavy in the hand, a slick, material deception in view of how light I feel they should be; I cup them like a precious object and find myself adjusting to accommodate their density. Technically contemporary, thematically ancient, his work blends deep history with a sense of capturing nowness, preserving a unique moment in time in metal. Siedek peppers our conversation with insights only available to someone expert in their materials and processes, illustrating how he is now able to accurately predict material outcomes, walking and talking me through all the technical and aesthetic decisions that led to these works. This insight is born out of lifelong experience, where as a boy in his stepfather's foundry he was able, from the age of five, to observe then practically develop and perfect his artistic and sculptural skills. This foundry, casting historical architectural brass fixtures in Siedek’s native Czechoslovakia, gave him a unique chance to learn all the facets of metal casting and technical production that underpins his new body of work. Siedek went on to study at the prestigious Turnov School of Applied Arts, established in 1884, where he further refined his artistic development in their historic and well-equipped studios and workshops. While expert in a range of materials - including wood, glass and stone - as an artist, metal remains his primary interest. Siedek is an artist with expert material knowledge, able to exclusively oversee every aspect of his work from inception to completion. This allows Siedek to execute the work at the ideal point of tension and risk, knowledge and serendipity - knowing the just when to allow wax to move and settle in a certain way, how the molten metal as it pours from the crucible can be manipulated just so, and the alchemy of the patina, where raw chemicals are combined with heat to create colour and finish. ‘To shout the colour’, as he puts it, ‘to capture and reproduce the heat of the material’. Made and completed during particular windows of opportunity, as their form and finish can be affected and determined by ambient humidity and the season of the year, the method of their creation sits in symmetry to their sense of nowness. Back to that contrast of deep history and right now, locking a moment into metal, itself then subject to the changes and manipulations of time, atmosphere and interaction. I find echoes of various ancient cultures in these archetypal vessel forms, manifest in a range of materials throughout human history. Siedek carries these echoes into his own work, with these objects serving no specific function but alluding to many - container, store, ritual offering, precious object. There is also another aspect to them, as Siedek demonstrates, tapping them with intent either on the edge of the rim or at their widest curve. They emit distinct, audible tones that exist between a meditative or ritual sound, some sonorous, others clear and crisp. He motions for me to try myself, another element of the work inviting human touch and interaction. I find myself forming a basic melody, tapping away, semi-hypnotized by this surprising and potent aspect of the sculptures. Siedek explains further how he was inspired by references to Echeia, objects producing or amplifying sound, noted by Vitruvius, where in his series On Architecture, he stated that ‘...In theatres are copper vases and these are placed in chambers under the rows of seats in accordance with mathematical reckoning. The Greeks call them Echeia. The differences of the sounds which arise are combined into musical symphonies… it becomes fuller, and reaches the audience with a richer and sweeter note’. Siedek explains that ‘This acoustic effect is planned and intentional, where vessels resonate, amplify and modify their sounds together from the surrounding environment. This emulates the way with certain architecture, where through the construction of their acoustic space, without any speakers or electricity the audience right at the back can still clearly hear the speaker, the preacher at the front. So these vessels, in a space, will have a number of physical effects on the environment. Just by their static presence, they are sort of alive.’ There is something companionable about this, that matches the vessels’ site between the past and the present - their historical resonance, both in form and acoustic potential. These vessels, and Siedek’s new focus and body of work, indicate a continuing journey to follow, one that stretches back to antiquity, and ahead thorough contemporary materials and knowledge. As I depart his studio, he concludes, ‘I always say that I didn’t choose this work and the art. It chose me. I just followed where it took me’.