Thomas J Price’s monumental bronze sculpture Moments Contained, a new 12 ft public sculpture by the British artist Thomas J Price has been unveiled in the square in front of Rotterdam’s Central Station.
The sculpture is funded by the Droom en Daad Foundation. The unveiling, which took place in the presence of the artist, was attended by the State Secretary for Culture and Media, Gunay Uslu, the Mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb and Wim Pijbes, Director, Droom en Daad Foundation.
Wim Pijbes, Director, Droom en Daad Foundation said:
This new work by Thomas J Price looks as if it has been made for Rotterdam, young, urban, steady, curious and open minded. It will be a wonderful addition to the city’s collection of public sculptures, which includes works by artists such as Rodin, Calder, Picasso, Moore, Oldenburg, Gavin Turk and Paul McCarthy.
The monumental bronze sculpture refers to a long-standing classical tradition of large bronze statues in public spaces. At the same time Moments Contained is not heroic or historic.
The sculpture has no pedestal. She stands on ground level, as we all do. With this work, Price responds to a long history of glorifying individuals or ideologies through sculpture. By celebrating a fictional woman in casual sportswear, Price challenges the marginalisation of those who have not traditionally been represented in public spaces. The character’s poise and attitude are easily relatable, bringing attention to the shared moments we experience and what connects us as a society.
Thomas J Price comments:
Moments Contained is about the experience of being dismissed as ‘the other’, of the strength of the individual despite preconceived attitudes towards status and value. The fictional woman can be described as stoic, but for me, she embodies resilience, self-confidence, and vulnerability. She stands upright, her hands casually in her pockets. My hope is that the people of Rotterdam will recognize themselves within the work and take ownership of it within a shared public space, providing a moment for deeper understanding, connection, and empathy.
Price has been celebrated for his recent sculpture, Warm Shores commemorating the contributions of the Windrush generation in the UK, unveiled to mark the anniversary of the arrival of MV Empire Windrush at the Port of Tilbury, near London in 1948. The artist’s larger-than-life figures were created from composites of 3D photographic scans of local residents related to the Windrush generation, permanently on view outside Hackney Town Hall, London. A solo exhibition by the artist will open at the V&A in London on 22 July 2023. The free display will see the artist’s work in dialogue with objects from the V&A’s historic collection, with new and recent works by the artist installed throughout the museum.
About the artist
Thomas J Price has rapidly become one of the most important British contemporary artists of his generation, subverting stereotypical representations of figures we value in society and traditional power structures. After studying at Chelsea College of Art, he completed his MA at the Royal College of Art, London and began further interrogating the language of monumentalism to question the status inherent in public sculptures. Conceptually driven, his multidisciplinary practice encompasses a wide range of mediums, including performance, animation, photography and painting. Price has exhibited widely in the UK and internationally, including solo exhibitions at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Bretton (2014), National Portrait Gallery, London (2016) and The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto (2019). Price’s work is held in collections such as The Donum Estate, Sonoma, CA; Government Art Collection, London, UK; The Wedge Collection, Canada; Derwent London, UK; Murderme, UK; and the Rennie Collection (Canada). Price was the recipient of the Arts Council England Helen Chadwick Fellowship in 2009. Price currently lives and works in London. Price was commissioned by Hackney Council to create the first permanent public sculptures to celebrate the contribution of the Windrush generation and their descendants in the UK, unveiled in June 2022. His solo presentation, ‘Witness’, in collaboration with The Studio Museum in Harlem was on view in Marcus Garvey Park from 2021 – 2022. Price’s first comprehensive solo exhibition in the US, ‘Beyond Measure’, is currently on view at Hauser & Wirth Downtown Los Angeles, until 20 August 2023.
Droom en Daad Foundation Rotterdam The Droom en Daad Foundation was founded in Rotterdam in 2017 with the aim of making the city of Rotterdam a world leader through arts and culture. The foundation aims to empower and connect the cultural fabric of the city through fostering and facilitating existing parties and by initiating new projects. The Foundation’s Director is Wim Pijbes, formerly Director of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, with Laura Dufour as Deputy Director.
Thomas J Price has opened ‘Beyond Measure’ at Hauser & Wirth, Downtown, Los Angeles his first comprehensive solo exhibition in the US
