Paul Tuppeny’s work follows several strands, developing from a core interest in the way that we present our species to ourselves. Drawing upon the visual language of presented history, instructional artworks deliver messages invoking our innate sense of self which transcends the individual and the present.

About

Statement

Paul Tuppeny’s current output follows a number of divergent strands bound together by an interest in the way that we present our species to ourselves. This involves temporal themes developing from our sense and recognition that the human species has a lifespan far greater than that of its component individuals and draws on the visual language of presented history to examine our own times and legacies. As a gregarious species, we hold within us an inner identity which transcends the individual, the self and the now.

In presentations of his work, Paul has sometimes used the poems of Seamus Heaney to illustrate how an object can stimulate and gather complex stories within the viewer and also to show the portrayal of time beyond the viewer’s immediate experience. Heaney’s poems have been likened to long exposure photographs where disparate events wrap around one another in a single frame. This analogy could apply equally to Paul Tuppeny’s practice.

Works are predominantly 3 dimensional but often incorporate images as a means of broadening their scope and content. The materials and form for each work are selected to reflect the embedded message or objective of the piece.

Biography

Exhibitions/Awards

2020 Discerning Eye (Forge a Past, Forge Ahead)

2019 (October) Commence PhD, University of the Arts, London (Chelsea College of Art and Design)

2019 (July) Arts Council Funded residency and exhibition, “Force of Nature”, Grand Parade Gallery, Brighton

2019 (May) Longlisted Ruskin Prize

2019 (May) Six at the Regency Town House, group exhibition,  Brunswick Square, Brighton

2018 (August) Science in Art Awards Open Call (shortlisted entry)

2018 (May) Fringe Arts Bath, Soft Rebellion  Open Call (selected work: Pinned Limb Branch 4)

2018 (May) Fringe Arts Bath, Doorways  Open Call (A Bed, A Door, A Slab In The Floor)

2018 (Apr) Elected to Royal Society of Sculptors

2017 (Sept) AIR Open Call, Manchester; Selected works: Atonement for a Jay, Tales of Absence and Infinity

2017 (Sept) Worthing Lights Festival (Wind Bag, Sky Bag)

2017 (Aug-Sept) Littlehampton Museum Open Call; Light, Selected work; Long Exposure (121 Years)

2017 (May) Longlisted Ruskin Prize

2017 (June-July) Fresh Air Sculpture Festival,Works: Pinned Limb (Quince)

2017 (June) Presentation to Quennington Society, “Art Opportunities in the Human Museum”

 2017 (April) Studio One, London, Painting Now! Selected Works:Doubtful Species (Man on The Beach) Doubtful Species (Boy)

2017 (April) Museum Ethnographers’ Group Conference, Glasgow: Paper presenting current / ongoing work and research.

2017 (March) De La Warr Pavillion, Bexhill Workshop and presentation “Art Opportunities in the Human Museum”.

2017 (March – April) Jubilee Library, Brighton [works: Carry Me Home (in Pieces) 2017, Doubtful Species 2016]

2017 (March) Bexhill Murmurations, Texture of Time [Works: Here Beneath Our Feet, Doubtful Species, Land Bridge Project]

2016 (October) Bank Street Gallery, Exhibition “Leave/Remain” [works: The Land Bridge Project, maquette 2016]

2016 (October) National Sculpture Prize Finalist ‘Highly Commended’ [work: Pinned Limb (Oak) 2016]

2016 (September) Private Commission [work; Pinned Limb]

2016 (August) Kirkstall Sculpture Commission Shortlisted Proposal

2016 (July) Sallis Benney Theatre, Brighton [works: Doubtful Species 2016, Long Exposure 2016, Atonement for a Jay 2016, Pinned Limb (Oak) Maquette 2016, Tales of Absence and Infinity 2015]

2016 (March-May) Finalist National Sculpture Prize [work: Pinned Limb (Oak) 2016]

 2016 (February-March) Atkinson Contemporary Art Gallery: MA and Other Post Graduate Contemporary Artwork [works: Here Beneath Our Feet 2015, Tales of Absence and Infinity 2015, In the Dream 2015]

2015 (October) Sluice, Art Fair, Oxo Tower Wharf, London (with Studio One Gallery)[works: Here Beneath Our Feet 2015, Tales of Absence and Infinity 2015, A Weighted Breath 2015]

2015 (August) The Hatch Gallery, Christchurch [works: Tales of Absence and Infinity 2015]

2015 (February/March) Atkinson Contemporary Art Gallery: MA and Other Post Graduate Contemporary Artwork [works: A Wing and a Breath 2014, Try for Twins 2014]

2014(November) Private Commission [work: 05/11 2014]

Awards:

National Sculpture Prize 2016: Highly Commended

Qualifications:

MA Fine Art (University of Brighton) Grade; Distinction

BA (Hons) Architecture (Oxford Brookes University), Grad Dip Arch (Oxford Brookes University) RIBA pt III

Memberships:

The Royal Society of Sculptors

The Museum Ethnographers’ Group

The British Society for Phenomenology