Giles Penny
{{short description|British sculptor and painter}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
Giles Penny (born 1962) is an English sculptor and painter. He has created many public sculptures by commission, which stand in locations in Britain.
Life
Penny was born in Dorset. He attended the Heatherley School of Fine Art in Chelsea, the Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and the Newport College of Art.[https://artuk.org/discover/artists/penny-giles-b-1962 "Giles Penny"] Art UK,. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
In the late 1980s he completed two portrait commissions, of Richard Branson and Anita Roddick, and afterwards became artist-in-residence at Anita Roddick's The Body Shop, creating many sculptures for the grounds of the company's headquarters in Littlehampton.[https://www.artrabbit.com/events/paintings-printed-and-sculpture-by-giles-penny "Paintings, Printed and Sculpture by Giles Penny 19 Aug 2023 – 28 Aug 2023"] ArtRabbit. Retrieved 31 December 2023. He has exhibited in England and France, including in 2023 at an exhibition of works by several sculptors in the gardens of Ashridge House, Hertfordshire.[https://www.ashridgehouse.org.uk/whats-on/giles-penny/ "Giles Penny"] Ashridge House. Retrieved 31 December 2023.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-66134837 "Ashridge House: Grade I listed house hosts first sculpture trail"] BBC, 31 July 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
He was elected in 1994 an Associate of the Royal Society of Sculptors. In 2017, he was elected an Academician of the Royal West of England Academy.[https://winsorbirch.com/artists/52-giles-penny/biography/ "Giles Penny"] Winsor Birch. Retrieved 31 December 2023.[https://www.rwa.org.uk/blogs/artists/giles-penny "Giles Penny"] Royal West of England Academy. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
Works
Penny has written that "when I reflect on my work over the past forty years I've found it's the idea in conjunction with the making that completes the experience." He acknowledges the influence of Giacomo Manzù. His works include the following:
"Man with Arms Open" in West India Avenue, Canary Wharf, and "Two Men on a Bench" in Wren Landing, Canary Wharf, are bronze sculptures dating from 1995. After they were shown in 1999 in the millennium exhibition The Shape of the Century; they were purchased by the Canary Wharf Group.[https://canarywharf.com/artwork/giles-penny-man-with-arms-open/ "Giles Penny:Man with Arms Open"] Canary Wharf Group. Retrieved 31 December 2023.[https://canarywharf.com/artwork/giles-penny-two-men-on-a-bench/ "Giles Penny: Two Men on a Bench"] Canary Wharf Group. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
"Man and Ball", of 1995, is a bronze sculpture, height {{convert|1.84|m}}, commissioned by Ransomes Europark in Ipswich, where it is situated.[https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/man-and-ball-294353 "Man and Ball"] Art UK. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
"Man and Animal", of 2004, is a bronze sculpture, height {{convert|2|m}}, in Camomile Walk, Portishead, Somerset. It was commissioned by Crest Nicholson.[https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/man-and-animal-314598 "Man and Animal"] Art UK. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
Gallery
File:Two Men on a Bench - Giles Penny.jpg|Two Men on a Bench, at Wren Landing, Canary Wharf, London
File:Man With Open Arms by Giles Penny, West India Avenue in March 2011 01.jpg|Man With Arms Open, at West India Avenue, Canary Wharf
File:Fulham Reach, Hammersmith (51934494374).jpg|Man and Arch, at Fulham Reach, London, commissioned by St. George Central London Ltd.
File:"Man with Ball" sculpture, Ransomes Europark, Ipswich - geograph.org.uk - 5680704.jpg|Man and Ball, at Ransomes Europark, Ipswich
File:Man and Globe by Giles Penny, Portsmouth (2) - 2023-04-21.jpg|Man and Globe, at Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth
File:Wolverhampton Premier Inn.JPG|Signalman, Wolverhampton
References
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External links
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Category:Associates of the Royal British Society of Sculptors
Category:20th-century English sculptors
Category:21st-century English sculptors