08/07/2018 Severine Grosjean
The flora is the entire species of plant present in a specific geographical area or ecosystem. Loaded with grace and mysteries, flowers have a very special relationship with humans or vice versa. Generations of artists have chosen nature as the heart of their work. Through their eyes they materialize the many facets of this nature, at once peaceful, tumultuous, wonderful and disturbing. They play with respect, vulnerability, strength and all the emotions that nature awakens in us.
In trying to create a nature, the Irish sculptor Alex Pentek resorts to science and technology, and, in turn, explores the infinite possibilities of the immensity of this living universe.
He creates works of different sizes, shapes and colors. Sometimes giants, their structures are a multiple and complex art. Its metallic structures of several meters are loaded with memory and respect. This is particularly true in his “Kindred Spirits” work in 2015 to honor the generosity of the Choctaw people who empathized with the famine victims in Ireland. For this reason, the artist produced a work composed of 6 meter feathers, used in Choctaw ceremonies. Alex Pentek made a sculpture gathering strength for the material used and fragility with the representation of the feathers, echo to the compassion and unity of some people in a horrible situation. Art and community are fundamental for Irish work.
In his studio located at the National Sculpture Factory in Cork, he creates with precision, as an engineer. His latest work, still in production, is a request from the state of Brisbane in Australia. After a competition that brought together artists from around the world, Alex Pentek was chosen to think about a project about inheritance. With “Urban Oasis”, Alex Pentek represents the preservation of a historical and geographical cultural heritage. He tries to challenge the public by showing different stages of growth of nature symbolizing the importance of this heritage and our place within a wider natural order. You can see his sculptures for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Embracing in his sculptures the science and the mathematics that he poses to a more philosophical question, Alex Pentek studies each idea taking into account the interest that the local population has with the projects. As an architect, the project must come alive in the community and be part of it.
Today, Alex Pentek launches a new challenge: Origami.
Amateur of science, mathematics and music, acts with a sheet of paper approximately four meters long. The overall structure is simple and elegant in form. The sculpture can be accessed from all angles and, while one wanders a dialogue of bodies, one observes and plays with the shadows between inside / outside. Natural light goes through the paper. This work is very artisanal but you can feel the concentration, precision, care and persistence involved. Origami opens up a whole field of extremely interesting possibilities. Through his paper works, he reclaims nature and poetry to open a new perspective of the world that surrounds the viewer.
As all his works, in paper o in metal, Alex Pentek creates in symbiosis with the place.He dresses the space. He creates a work of such scale and impact that connects with the viewer thus improving the sense of place.
Partnership: The Nomad Creative Projects
