Phil Price
Type of Practice
- Temporary installation
- Site specific
- Environmental/representational
- Abstract/sculptural
- Architectural/sculptural
- Kinetic
Artist Statement
"We are always looking to be compelled by an artwork. The great thing about wind-activated kinetic work is that when it is taken out of the studio into the environment, it becomes completely transformed. Taking on a life of its own."
Additional Information
Phil Price was born in Nelson, 1965. Between 1984 –1989 he earned a BFA at the School of Fine Arts of the University of Canterbury. Price lives in Christchurch.
Phil Price is perhaps best known for his large wind-driven kinetic sculptures that jubilantly celebrate motion, nature and place. The forms the sculptures take range from twisting stacks of oblate disks (Protoplasm (2002), Dancer (2003), and Cytoplasm (2003)), sweeping wing-like fins (Sassafras Wings (2004)) and bobbing spikes (Zephyrometer (2003-04)). Raised up on high shafts, they take on an almost totemic quality.
Nucleus, commissioned in conjunction with the Art & Industry Biennial Trust and the Christchurch City Council, was unveiled as part of the SCAPE 2006 Biennial of Art in Public Space.
"Nucleus, the positively charged centre of an atom. Christchurch was my place of study and remains the centre of my practice, so this title and the sculpture have a special significance for me. The artwork is a celebration of place. The simple singular form made of four equal parts is a reflection of Christchurch, with its well planned and laid out built environment. All the parts are connected and necessary for the whole to function. The plinth, with its exposed structure and beauty through function, is a celebration of Christchurch’s engineering and industrial base." (Phil Price)
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Phil Price, Zephyrometer (2003-04), Cobham Drive, Wellington |
Public Commissions
- Protoplasm (2002), kinetic sculpture, Lambton Quay, Wellington
- Cytoplasm (2003), Sculpture on the Gulf kinetic installation, Auckland Harbour
- Sassafras Wings (2004), kinetic sculpture, Sculpture by the Sea, Sydney, Australia
- Zephyrometer (2003-04), kinetic sculpture, Cobham Drive, Wellington
Works in Christchurch Area
- Taking Flight (1993), Woodlands area, South Hagley Park
- Knowledge (2006), Upper Riccarton Library, Hornby
- Nucleus (2006), Lichfield/Manchester/High Street Corner
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Phil Price, Knowledge, (2006), Upper Riccarton, Christchurch |
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Phil Price, Cytoplasm (2003), Waiheke Island, Auckland Harbour |
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