The Spirit of Sapien
Sapien is a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors (MRSS) and holds a bachelors degree in Industrial Design, graduating in 2004 from Sheffield Hallam University. He creates abstract steel sculptures for high-profile clients like: Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Sky Arts & Harworth. Based in Sheffield, England the studio produces dynamic sculptures for private collectors & larger site-specific artworks for public realm projects, fusing elemental materials, digital design and traditional fabrication techniques. Sapien sculptures are open bodies, allowing space, light, and air to flow freely. This openness creates a dialogue between presence and absence, solidity and weightlessness. As light shifts and air moves through them, they remain alive, never static, but constantly engaging with their surroundings.
Sapien, born and raised in the steel city likes to draw from his dual-heritage bringing together eastern philosophies with the industrial heritage of the North of England. He is intent in revealing hidden dimensions of mind and material, through an exploration of the junctions between opposing elements, such as: chaos and order, science and spirituality, poetry and machinery. His work exposes boundary lines to convey a raw sense of what it means to be a living breathing human being.
"Sapien’s sculpture is testament to his search for poetry in the mineral substance of landscape and within the working culture of industrial Sheffield. His practice of self-healing through deep contemplation brings humility and sensuality to cold steel and to the creation of an ambitious and inspiring body of sculpture – sculptures that are adamant and weighty, yet reach far beyond their material span to signify boundless possibility."
Clare Lilley | Director, Yorkshire Sculpture Park
The Art of Healing
Personal growth and healing lie at the heart of the Sapien practice. He is a master meditator with 20 years of dedicated practice & several years teaching classes, guiding hundreds of people in Yorkshire, including a two year spell teaching students and staff at the University of Sheffield. Sapien has found infusing these ancient techniques with his own creative process can have unexpected results, dramatically improving & unlocking creative potential. He calls this process 'The Sapien Method'. A contemporary social practice that creates opportunities for people to come together to meditate, make art and help ideas thrive. Curious? Read more here
Sapien’s work has been exhibited at the prestigious Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and twice at the Aesthetica Art Prize in York. He has also been commissioned for an important UK private collection. His award-winning sculpture ‘Only Breath’ was exhibited at the Hepworth Wakefield, during filming of the 2021 Sky Arts 'LANDMARK' TV series & public art contest, where it won the Northern heat/episode.
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