Hanging In The Balance: Henry Beasley | Floor 2
The young artists studio is a small patch in a room full of fork trucks. Henry Beazley’s rusted iron sculptures jostle for space in the dimly lit storeroom. When disentangled, I find Henry’s abstract offerings quirky and engaging, resembling the modernist sculpture of David Smith, who was the first artist to work directly with welded metal. On second thought they seem to be made in the spirit of Catalan sculptor Julio Gonzalez who was famous for his expressive use of iron in modern sculpture.
Process Art is a movement which emphasises the act of artistic creation, the journey, rather than the finished product, the destination. Imaginative use of iron for making art without a plan suits Henry Beazley’s identity – an intelligent person who often feels overwhelmed in the world, Henry immerses himself in the making process to bring order and therefore balance into his life.
His work is raw “I like to keep the scars,” and playful, “I just go with the flow then let nature take them on:” he shows me a spider hiding in an angle of rust. Beazley’s sculptures may start life in the studio but they continue to evolve outside when exposed to the alchemy of the elements.
Ants navigate twists of oxidised orange steel, snails clench, moss clings and rows of birds perch on a cantilever – just hanging in the balance.