This imposing sculpture depicts three men forming a dance upon a rock. Each figure is unique. Two are facing in the same direction, while the third looks the other way. The smallest of the three is struggling to move forward. All are anchored to the rock, unable to extricate themselves. It is a meta...
This imposing sculpture depicts three men forming a dance upon a rock. Each figure is unique. Two are facing in the same direction, while the third looks the other way. The smallest of the three is struggling to move forward. All are anchored to the rock, unable to extricate themselves. It is a metaphor for the human condition: man cannot go back. The sculpture is currently on loan to Monaco from the artist himself, who intends for it one day to adorn his tomb.
Blake William Ward was born in 1956 in Canada’s North West Territories. From the age of 19, Blake studied art history at the British Academy in Rome, before returning to Canada to complete a degree at the University of Alberta from 1975 to 1979. After graduating, Blake continued his studies of figurative sculpture in Europe’s art capitals, first in Manchester at the Polytechnic Institute (1984), and later in Paris where he was regularly to be found at the workshop of Cyril Heck between 1986 and 1989. During his time in Paris, he concentrated on the traditional techniques used by figurative artists, and developed a precise model of representative work. For Blake Ward, figurative sculpture is the language of the human mind. His pieces are often modern interpretations of classical themes, and his work attempts to express beauty and awaken our spiritual senses. In keeping with the European tradition, no more than a dozen examples are made of each sculpture. Blake Ward has lived in the Principality since 1991, and three of his monumental sculptures are on permanent display here: L’Éveil can be found in the Trocadéro Gardens on Place des Moulins; Les Atlantes and 1989 Emerging Continents are in Fontvieille.
