Roxy Winterburn

Yorkshire-based sculptor Roxy Winterburn’s previous collections for Castle Fine Art have often featured animals from around the globe, but her latest work comes much closer to home, and very close to her heart.

‘Shelter’ is a new limited edition bronze, featuring a horse sheltering a small child, showing the intimate relationship between horse and rider, which Roxy says “is like no other”. She has ridden horses since she was three and wanted to portray the relationships she has forged with them in her work.

Her debut collection, Circle of Life, combines her childhood memories of Kenya and passion for Disney with a little scientific wizardry.

Taking its title from The Lion King, the suite of three sculptures – available in resin or bronze – is a stylised representation of animals that inspired her as a young girl. From a gloriously rotund hippo to two huddling penguins, the circular forms evoke happy emotions and symbolise how everything in life is connected.

"I like stylised art. A piece doesn't necessarily have to be a realistic representation of a subject; it is what it is, and I want that to come through in my work. For example, I have created my pieces so you can recognise the animals, but they don't have to be an exact replica of the real thing."

Roxy creates all of her original sculptures at the family’s foundry. Although she occasionally creates a quick sketch of her idea, she often heads straight to the workshop to start bringing the sculpture to life. She adds: “Each day in the workshop is different to the last. Some days I might be sculpting, and others I can be making lost-wax casts, welding or chasing the bronze works. I am able to do every part of the process, from the very start of sculpting to the final patinated bronze.”

Behind Roxy’s art is a fascination with the way the world works. Amazed by how changing just one molecular bond can alter a state, she uses her scientific knowledge to formulate her own patinas. Different heats and chemicals create a unique reaction that cannot be replicated. As a result, each of the studio editions has a unique finish. The colours are muted to reflect Roxy’s belief that art should be ever-lasting and live within the home.