Paul Day (sculptor)

The Meeting Place, St Pancras Station, London, 2013
Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial, Victoria Embankment Gardens, London, 2017

Paul Day (born 1967) is a British sculptor. His high-relief sculptures in terracotta, resin, and bronze have been exhibited widely in Europe and his work is known for its unusual approach to perspective.[1]

Major works include:[1][2]

In 2008 a high-relief frieze was added to the base of The Meeting Place as part of refurbishments at St Pancras, featuring images from the history of the Tube and train: people queuing on platforms or travelling in carriages; soldiers departing for war and returning injured, and repair works following the 7 July 2005 London bombings. The work was the object of controversy when first erected, as one panel depicted a commuter falling into the path of a train driven by the Grim Reaper. However, following discussions with London and Continental Railways (LCR), this panel was replaced with another.[4][5]

Day studied at art schools in the UK at Colchester and Dartington, and completed his training at Cheltenham in 1991. He now lives in a village near Dijon, France, with his French wife, Catherine. Their Anglo-French relationship is an explicit and repeated theme in his works.

The Meeting Place, which is modelled on an embrace between Paul and Catherine, stands as a metaphor for St Pancras's role as the terminus of the rail link between England and France.[1][6] Another contemporary sculptor and critic, Antony Gormley, singled out The Meeting Place when he condemned the current public art works across the UK, stating: "there is an awful lot of crap out there".[7] Day admitted that "Some will say it is a chocolate box sculpture."[2]

In December 2017, Day received criticism for accepting a commission to create a sculpture in Moscow of the late Uzbek leader Islam Karimov, "widely regarded as one of the most ruthless dictators in recent history", and responded, "I go with the flow".[8]

In 2021, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, a memorial for Fred Rogers by Day was unveiled at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida.[9] In 2023, Day was announced as the sculptor for the upcoming The Forces’ Sweetheart And Wartime Entertainers’ Memorial planned for the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Battle of Britain London Monument". Battle of Britain Archive. Archived from the original on 9 January 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2007.
  2. ^ a b Milmo, Cahal (14 February 2007). "Art that embraces a new future for St Pancras". The Independent. London. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  3. ^ "Iraq and Afghanistan wars memorial unveiled". BBC Online. 9 March 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  4. ^ Rachel Stevenson (12 October 2008). "St Pancras Station Refuses to Display Train Death Sculpture". The Guardian. London.
  5. ^ Paula Fentiman (13 October 2008). "St Pancras frieze Toned Down". The Guardian. London.[dead link‍]
  6. ^ "Sculptor Paul Day's Commission". sculpture.net. 14 February 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2008.
  7. ^ Arifa Akbar (6 March 2008). "Modern Public Artworks Are "Crap", Says Gormley". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022.
  8. ^ Walker, Shaun (20 December 2017). "Briton criticised over sculpture of 'terrible' Uzbek dictator Karimov". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  9. ^ Humphreys, Rob. "Crafting an Icon". Rollins. Published May 28, 2021. Accessed April 30, 2023.
  10. ^ "Forces’ Sweetheart And Wartime Entertainers’ Memorial To Feature At National Memorial Arboretum". Dame Vera Lynn Memorial Statue. Published April 26, 2023. Accessed April 30, 2023.


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