Hyfler/Rosner
2010-11-22 03:52:42 UTC
Note that his wife died three weeks later, also young.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2010/nov/21/len-shelley-obituary
Len Shelley obituary
Artist known for boxed tableaux that mixed real life and
fantasy
Len Shelley collected his materials from junkshops and
beachcombing expeditions.
The artist Len Shelley, who has died of cancer aged 46, was
as much a maker of fables as he was a maker of boxed
tableaux. His art consisted of the creation of
anthropomorphic characters acting out roles in scenes that
seem to echo real life but which, at the same time, are
rooted in theatre and fairytales. All of this was bound
within the physical confines of exquisitely constructed
boxes.
Born in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, Len was an only
child. Aged seven, he began boarding at Sutton Valence
school near Maidstone in Kent. On leaving school he was torn
between art and horticulture; art won, but his love of
plants and being surrounded by nature endured. His walking
expeditions became central to his life and practice as an
artist. He studied film and animation at Bournemouth College
of Art (now the Arts University College at Bournemouth) from
1986 to 1989, and began to make puppets which he animated
through the stop-motion method. The results are highly
accomplished and surreal films that owe a debt to Beatrix
Potter and Lewis Carroll as well as animators such as Jan
Svankmajer and the Brothers Quay.
Returning to East Sussex in 1990, Len began the steady
process of developing the box art and sculptures that grew
naturally from his work as an animator in model-making, set
design and storytelling, which was tinged with a darkly
observant but playful and ironic humour. Len was a
compulsive collector and through scouring junkshops and,
more importantly, beachcombing, he accumulated much of the
raw material that filled his studio. Fish and bird heads,
driftwood and all manner of sea life, weathered, bleached
and sun-dried, were gathered and taken to the studio, where
they were classified and stored to await their future roles.
The ideas for the boxes, the characters and the scenarios
they presented, as well as the titles, often relied on
personal memory and reflections (I Saw Grandfather Hoarding
Tripe, for example). They could equally emerge as a response
to the materials and what they suggested or to snippets of
overheard conversations (It's Just Like Paradise She Said).
The characters and their gestures, so expressively pitched
through the angle of a glass eye or tilt of the head,
encapsulate narrative moments like photographs or, as Len
once said, stills from films that will never be made. During
a recent exhibition at the Weekend Gallery in Hastings, one
of his boxes fell from the wall, the glass smashed and the
figures spilled out on the floor, one of them with a broken
limb. The curator asked Len if he could repair it, which he
did, duly returning it as good as new, except that the
figure now had an impeccably dressed bandage.
From 1990 he exhibited regularly both in Britain and abroad
in group and solo shows. His work was increasingly noticed
and sought after by collectors, especially in Europe, and a
set of new boxes was recently shipped to the Claude Andre
gallery in Brussels.
From 1990 to 2002, Len taught video and animation part-time
at Hastings College of Arts and Technology (now Sussex Coast
College Hastings). His quiet manner, sincerity and
dedication to the students made him highly respected by
colleagues and students alike. Since 2008 he had
periodically worked with Project Art Works, an artist-led
organisation that works with people who have complex
impairments. Len revealed a remarkable capacity to respond
to and follow autistic young people in creative encounters.
This summer, after seven years together, Len married Angie
Biltcliffe, an artist and beekeeper, in a beautiful
celebration at Winchelsea beach, close to Angie's hives and
under mature trees in full leaf. Angie died of cancer, aged
52, only three weeks after Len. He is survived by her two
sons, Rufus and Dillon, and by his father, John.
. Len Shelley, artist, born 2 March 1964; died 13 October
2010
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2010/nov/21/len-shelley-obituary
Len Shelley obituary
Artist known for boxed tableaux that mixed real life and
fantasy
Len Shelley collected his materials from junkshops and
beachcombing expeditions.
The artist Len Shelley, who has died of cancer aged 46, was
as much a maker of fables as he was a maker of boxed
tableaux. His art consisted of the creation of
anthropomorphic characters acting out roles in scenes that
seem to echo real life but which, at the same time, are
rooted in theatre and fairytales. All of this was bound
within the physical confines of exquisitely constructed
boxes.
Born in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, Len was an only
child. Aged seven, he began boarding at Sutton Valence
school near Maidstone in Kent. On leaving school he was torn
between art and horticulture; art won, but his love of
plants and being surrounded by nature endured. His walking
expeditions became central to his life and practice as an
artist. He studied film and animation at Bournemouth College
of Art (now the Arts University College at Bournemouth) from
1986 to 1989, and began to make puppets which he animated
through the stop-motion method. The results are highly
accomplished and surreal films that owe a debt to Beatrix
Potter and Lewis Carroll as well as animators such as Jan
Svankmajer and the Brothers Quay.
Returning to East Sussex in 1990, Len began the steady
process of developing the box art and sculptures that grew
naturally from his work as an animator in model-making, set
design and storytelling, which was tinged with a darkly
observant but playful and ironic humour. Len was a
compulsive collector and through scouring junkshops and,
more importantly, beachcombing, he accumulated much of the
raw material that filled his studio. Fish and bird heads,
driftwood and all manner of sea life, weathered, bleached
and sun-dried, were gathered and taken to the studio, where
they were classified and stored to await their future roles.
The ideas for the boxes, the characters and the scenarios
they presented, as well as the titles, often relied on
personal memory and reflections (I Saw Grandfather Hoarding
Tripe, for example). They could equally emerge as a response
to the materials and what they suggested or to snippets of
overheard conversations (It's Just Like Paradise She Said).
The characters and their gestures, so expressively pitched
through the angle of a glass eye or tilt of the head,
encapsulate narrative moments like photographs or, as Len
once said, stills from films that will never be made. During
a recent exhibition at the Weekend Gallery in Hastings, one
of his boxes fell from the wall, the glass smashed and the
figures spilled out on the floor, one of them with a broken
limb. The curator asked Len if he could repair it, which he
did, duly returning it as good as new, except that the
figure now had an impeccably dressed bandage.
From 1990 he exhibited regularly both in Britain and abroad
in group and solo shows. His work was increasingly noticed
and sought after by collectors, especially in Europe, and a
set of new boxes was recently shipped to the Claude Andre
gallery in Brussels.
From 1990 to 2002, Len taught video and animation part-time
at Hastings College of Arts and Technology (now Sussex Coast
College Hastings). His quiet manner, sincerity and
dedication to the students made him highly respected by
colleagues and students alike. Since 2008 he had
periodically worked with Project Art Works, an artist-led
organisation that works with people who have complex
impairments. Len revealed a remarkable capacity to respond
to and follow autistic young people in creative encounters.
This summer, after seven years together, Len married Angie
Biltcliffe, an artist and beekeeper, in a beautiful
celebration at Winchelsea beach, close to Angie's hives and
under mature trees in full leaf. Angie died of cancer, aged
52, only three weeks after Len. He is survived by her two
sons, Rufus and Dillon, and by his father, John.
. Len Shelley, artist, born 2 March 1964; died 13 October
2010