{"id":33392,"date":"2016-04-14T20:47:10","date_gmt":"2016-04-15T00:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artoronto.ca\/?p=33392"},"modified":"2016-05-02T17:45:34","modified_gmt":"2016-05-02T21:45:34","slug":"fred-hummel-of-hand-mind-and-soul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/?p=33392","title":{"rendered":"Fred Hummel: Of Hand Mind and Soul"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Artist, Fred Hummel giving his art talk<\/p>\n

In his artist talk Fred Hummel told the audience that they should feel free to touch all of his sculptures. Although this is an unusual practice in art galleries, it sets his show apart from others. He explained how his works are about far more than just the sight \u2013 he wants viewers to understand how he feels when he creates them with his hands through the use of their own. The sculptures he created – whether figurative animals or abstract all evoke the desire to explore them with hand, mind and soul just as the title of the exhibition directs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Fred Hummel,\u00a0Infinity, Solara limestone, translucent alabaster \/ Irish limestone base (left) & \u00a0Unfurling, Blue anhydride, Turkish limestone \/ Irish limestone base (right)<\/p>\n

Hummel spent most of his life as a physical education teacher and gymnastics coach in Scarborough, Ontario. While he takes more time for his art now, he has not forgotten the importance of physicality in his life. When I asked how he felt this physicality translated into his art, he stated that he essentially transitioned from manipulating bodies to manipulating stones. The key difference as he pointed out was that the stones complain. One of the works which most resembles the physicality of gymnasts is the euphoric, \u201cSentinel\u201d. This basalt and granite sculpture shows the torso of a woman with her back highly arched and her head thrown back evoking a sense of intense exhilaration. The position of the body is not the most natural, but it is not abstract either. The body is highly flexible, but not unachievably so. Through the dedication it takes to learn a sport or create a stone sculpture this pose could be achieved.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Fred Hummel,\u00a0Consensual, Limestone \/ granite base (left) &\u00a0Sentinel, Basalt \/ granite base (right)<\/p>\n

Hummel is most widely recognized for his sculptures that depict animals. \u201cAncient\u201d is a clear representation of a fish, the stone base of which was actually found in Ontario. Although initially this may seem like a simplistic animal sculpture, when viewed from different angles the Labradorean stone begins to change colours. From sparkling greens to deep blues the fish almost seems to be in movement. The bear sculpture \u201cBlue Ice\u201d does not have the same dynamic colour movement, however, it\u2019s icy blue also presents the essence of the animal portrayed. It appears cold, strong and fascinating to the viewers. It is not a surprise that Hummel is best known for his animal sculptures. He chooses the stones very \u00a0carefully\u00a0and with his excellent sculpting skill he is able to capture the spirit of the animal – something that he likely gets from his own penchant for the majestic outdoors.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Fred Hummel,\u00a0Entangled, Translucent alabaster \/ river stone base<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Fred Hummel,\u00a0Blue Ice, Blue anhydride \/ Irish limestone base<\/p>\n

This show is Hummel\u2019s first solo exhibition at the Sculptor\u2019s Society of Canada in the 3 years since he has been a member. Last year they sent him to Korea to present a 10-foot tall granite sculpture that he only had four weeks to produce. The artist rose to the challenge the same way he was able to pull together such a dynamic solo exhibition. Although he found sculpting later in life, he makes clear that he is willing to throw himself completely into his work as he is very passionate about it. From animals, to figures, to more abstract works such as \u201cWindswept\u201d which lovingly tucks one stone into another and brings forth a sense of comfort in nature, Hummel clearly puts his all into each one of his works big or small.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Fred Hummel,\u00a0Juxtaposition, Marble \/ granite base (left) & Windswept, Brucite, black granite (right)<\/p>\n

Rhiann Moore
\nImages are courtesy of the Canadian Sculpture Centre<\/p>\n

*Exhibition information: April 17 – 29, 2016,\u00a0Canadian Sculpture Centre, 500 Church Street. Gallery hours: Tue \u2013 Fri: 12 \u2013 6, Sat: 11 \u2013 4 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Rhiann Moore<\/strong><\/p>\n

From animals, to figures, to more abstract works Hummel clearly puts his all into each one of his works big or small.<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,172,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-rhiann-moore","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33392"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33392\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33771,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33392\/revisions\/33771"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}