TERESA WELLS

I obtained a First-Class Honours degree in Fine Art from Nottingham Trent University in 1996 and undertook postgraduate studies at Loughborough University, where my tutors included John Atkin FRBS and Dan Archer FRBS. I have worked on large-scale sculptures, reaching heights of 4 metres, as well as at a more intimate scale of 30 cm using mixed media. My early sculptures were constructed from mild steel, utilising a variety of ready-made fixings such as nuts, bolts, and silk ribbon. I metaphorically used these materials to create vessels that conveyed the relationship between our inner and outer selves, strength and fragility, and the hidden and vulnerable aspects of our being. My fascination with contradictions emerged from studying cultural practices, influenced by anthropologists such as Nigel Barley (Smashing Pots), Mary Douglas (Purity and Danger), and zoologist Desmond Morris (Man Watching). Initially trained as an illustrator, I work in a Baroque style, drawing inspiration from artists like Bernini, Anthony Gormley, Phillip King, Cathy de Monchaux, and Grayson Perry. Currently, I primarily work with bronze and enjoy placing figurative forms in precarious positions using strong geometric steel shapes as supports.

As a multi-award-winning sculptor (including accolades such as 'Mind Body Spirit' International Art – Competition.net, Best in show at APT Deptford 2015, Nominated by Richard Deacon CBE, Silver Gilt Award at Chelsea Flower Show 2022, and Gold at Blenheim 2021), I sell my work through various gallery platforms in the UK and USA, with pieces featured in the permanent collection of The Robert T Webb Sculpture Park in Georgia, USA. I also work on commissioned projects for clients such as Juliet Sergeant, Blue Peter, BBC1, Netflix, AK designs, Best and Lloyd Lighting Design Ltd., and various private clients.

My work has received press coverage, including BBC coverage of Arthur for Blue Peter Garden 2022, The Times Newspaper in May 2022, I Weekend in June 2021, BBC1's Home is where the Art is, Netflix's drama series Dracula, Flux Review Magazine in 2021, CAKE in 2020, and London Live in 2018, among others.

With an ethical consciousness, I create work that examines the contradictions of human action and thought, in an attempt to survive.  Rule breaking, disconcerted relationships, miscommunication, isolation, vulnerability, and fragility fascinate: as do tenacity, ingenuity, forgiveness and strength. I use the medium of sculpture to express that it is our whole selves complete with flaws that make us compelling.