Chris Rutter and Evelyn Bennett

In 2000 Wilfred and Jeanette Cass asked us to make a sculpture for their sculpture organisation ‘Sculpture at Goodwood’. We made several models of different ideas which were to be sited in different places in the grounds and finally settled on ‘Chase Air’. There were many thoughts and threads that lead us to the final design and siting; among them were the tale of Daphne and Apollo (the psychological strategy of taking yourself ‘out of body’ when faced with an unendurable experience struck a chord with us), the experience of seeing blue sky through a woodland canopy, immersion in colour (like a bee in a flower), the merging of male and female and other thoughts and feelings that occur subconsciously while working which are hard to put into words and probably best left untranslated.
Ann Elliott wrote this in ‘A Vision for 21st C. British Sculpture’, which we thought was good.

“Rutter and Bennett have worked in collaboration on sculptures since 1994, having respectively pursued independent careers in the fields of sculpture and architectural stone carving, and textile and ceramic design. Working together in a truly democratic manner has, for these artists, had the effect of eliminating egocentricity in their thinking and has assisted creative problem-solving. Theirs is a true partnership of complementary ideas, skills and sensibilities which results in sculptures that are highly individual as well as colourful and accessible.
The circus, which has engaged the interest of artists as diverse as Degas, Calder and even Henry Moore in some of his graphic works, has been the source of many dynamic and joyful sculptures by Rutter and Bennett.
Colours of the sweet jar and dressing-up box are applied evenly to the surface of their sculptures and work entirely in harmony with the form.
They also embrace other subjects, plants, animals, and marine life, in pieces which exhibit joie de vivre to delight and transport us away from the humdrum of everyday life. ”

‘Chase Air’ was sold to Prior’s Court School for Autistic Children which was founded by Dame Stephanie Shirley and has a wonderful art collection which helps the children. We are very glad it went to the school.

Here is a video of the installation of the sculpture made by the SkyArts channel for the series ‘Walking with Sculptors’ . Try here if the first video is not working. Can you spot the deliberate mistake?

Juggler

Circus

In 1999 we were asked to do an exhibition at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill. We loved the space with its lightness and breezes blowing in off the sea. We had been going to the circus a lot and wanted to make some sculptures that had something of  the movement, colour and excitement of the acts that we saw. We wanted the sculptures to work individually and as a whole and decided to paint the walls of the room pink as a background for the colours). This created some great colour combinations as you looked through the sculptures when walking around the space. We made some of the pieces able to move and sway in the breeze.

Hulahooper

Our friend John Davies wrote this for the exhibition catalogue.

“Christopher Rutter and Evelyn Bennett make sculpture in co-operation – a double act, common in the world of entertainment; but not in the world of art. Eliminating the restrictions of a single obsessive ego they produce work out of a complimentary partnership of ideas and sensibilities.
They combine their different skills from the backgrounds of sculpture and design to create these playful euphoric sculptures where colour and form play equal roles, as in nature.
The spirit of the work is in cheerful opposition to the English character – here is the parrot not the sparrow.

There are acknowledged echoes of journeys in Africa, Spain and Mexico – painted houses, brightly coloured carvings, toys, sweets, pottery and textiles, budding plants, cacti, animal and marine forms and above all, the circus; all for our enjoyment and delight.

The circus has caught many artists in its spell from Degas to Calder. The risk, colour, suspense and sheer theatricality attracted even D. H. Lawrence from sombre Eastwood, Nottinghamshire and later Mexico.
Here are some extracts from his poem ‘When I went to the Circus’–

‘The tight rope lady, pink and blond and nude looking,
with a few gold spangles …’

‘The trapeze man, slim and beautiful like a fish in the air
swung great curves through the upper space, and came down
like a star…’

‘The elephants, huge and grey, loomed their curved bulk
through the dusk
And sat up, taking strange postures, showing the pink soles
of their feet
And curling their precious live trunks like ammonites…’

Unicyclist

The use of colour and form together is a neglected area for sculptors. Such colours as used in these works are unusual and vibrant – particularly noticeable in a Britain whose colours are mostly those of the grubby pigeon and when it is fashionable to wear black and muted colours.
Our attitude to colour is still Victorian and reserved, we are afraid of its sensuality.
The brightest colours are those red post boxes against green fields. The red bus on a grey street, the pink of a colour-washed cottage. We British keep the brightest colours fenced in our gardens.

Big Top

Experiencing the work one wonders why our buildings aren’t coloured to combat the rain soaked concrete hues favoured by our architects. Colour and decoration and sculpture are absent on buildings and in our cities where they are most needed to compensate for the lack of nature. We have long winters and grey streets – colour and sculpture could be let loose.

The artists have created, for this most English of resorts, a colourful exotic ‘garden of delights’ which also contains the shapes and feel of the circus. Here we can find the juggler, unicyclist, tight rope walker, and vibrant colours used lavishly and joyfully. Here the parrot to confronts the sparrow, the Mediterranean meets the English Channel.

Christopher Rutter and Evelyn Bennett have brought their circus to your town.”

John Davies

Hanging Ball