Ralph Koltai
Ralph Koltai CBE RDI is Britain's senior and most celebrated Theatre Designer.
Remarkably he has embarked on a new and impressive challenge, returning to his roots as a 3-dimensional artist, creating a series of bas-relief sculpture / collages.
They are mostly made from found objects on farms near his studio in France. He selects panels or pieces, predominantly metal, and dissects them in a compositional form. He is working energetically, currently to a total of 40 works. Although they are not in themselves narrative, many spring from his former theatre designs that were themselves concieved in a similar manner. A sheet of rusty metal became a wall in Simon Boccanegra, a polished dish and sphere became the entrance to Caliban's Cave in The Tempest, and most recently the root of a tree became the setting for Howard Brenton's play The Romans in Britain.
His present work has evolved from his life-time approach to his stage designs and remarkably show how a true artist will create and re-create. Mostly they are wall hung, some others displayed on plinths.
Ralph Koltai was invited to make a full size walkthrough sculpture to form the entrance to the British pavillion at the Prague Quadreniale in June 2007 which was subsequently installed in the gardens / courtyard of the Victoria & Albert Museum. It had been contructed in iron by Ralph's long time collaborator Stephen Pyle to a height of 5 metres.
Pamela Howard FRSA
June 2007
Ralph Koltai : Stage 2 Metal Collage 2002 – 2010
An exhibition of his metal collage sculptre work is on display at the National Theatre in London from the 27th September - 14th November 2010.
For more information please visit the National Theatre website.