Beaux Arts Bath

Beth Carter

Home Artists Beth Carter
Sculptures
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Sculptures
Reading Minotaur, Ed. of 10 54 x 24 x 30 cm. £12,980
Giant Standing Minotaur, Bronze, Ed. of 10 185 x 64 x 61 cm.
Reading Minotaur, Ed. of 10 54 x 24 x 30 cm. £12,980
Beth Carter Girl and Bull, Bronze Ed. of 10 63 x 60 x 21 cm.Beth Carter Girl and Bull, Bronze Ed. of 10 63 x 60 x 21 cm.
Girl and Bull, Bronze Ed. 2 of 10 63 x 60 x 21 cm. £9,000
Antler Figure, Bronze Ed. 8 of 15 142 x 56 x 48 cm. £16,200
Beth Carter Girl and Bull, Bronze Ed. of 10 63 x 60 x 21 cm.Beth Carter Girl and Bull, Bronze Ed. of 10 63 x 60 x 21 cm.
Girl and Bull, Bronze Ed. 2 of 10 h63 x 60 x 21 cm. £9,000
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Minotaur (Holding Horn), Bronze Ed. 2 of 10 51 x 51 x 34 cm. £11,700
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Minotaur (Holding Horn), Bronze Ed. 10 51 x 51 x 34 cm. £11,700
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Minotaur (Holding Horn), Bronze Ed. 2 of 10 51 x 51 x 34 cm. £11,700
Faun, Bronze Ed. 2 of 10 70 x 30 x 35 cm.
Faun, Bronze Ed. 2 of 10 70 x 30 x 35 cm.
Faun, Bronze Ed. 2 of 10 70 x 30 x 35 cm.
Beth Carter Small Standing Donkey, Bronze Ed. of 8 h31 x 9 x 7 cmBeth Carter Small Standing Donkey, Bronze Ed. of 8 h31 x 9 x 7 cm
Small Standing Donkey, Bronze Ed. 2 of 8 h31 x 9 x 7 cm. £2,000
The Dunce, Bronze Ed. of 15 61 x 20 x 16 cm. £4,800
Beth Carter Small King, Bronze Ed. 15 34 x 13 x 7 cmBeth Carter Small King, Bronze Ed. 15 34 x 13 x 7 cm
Small King, Bronze Ed. 7 of 15 34 x 13 x 7 cm. £2,160
Beth Carter Large Minotaur Bust (with Bird), Bronze h51 x 25 x 25 cm.Beth Carter Large Minotaur Bust (with Bird), Bronze h51 x 25 x 25 cm.
Large Minotaur Bust (with Bird), Bronze Ed 3 of 10 h51 x 25 x 25 cm. £9,800
Beth Carter Large Minotaur Bust (with Bird), Bronze h51 x 25 x 25 cm.Beth Carter Large Minotaur Bust (with Bird), Bronze h51 x 25 x 25 cm.
Large Minotaur Bust (with Bird), Bronze Ed. 3 of 10 h51 x 25 x 25 cm. £9,800
Beth Carter Large Minotaur Bust (with Bird), Bronze h51 x 25 x 25 cm.Beth Carter Large Minotaur Bust (with Bird), Bronze h51 x 25 x 25 cm.
Large Minotaur Bust (with Bird), Bronze Ed. 3 of 10 h51 x 25 x 25 cm. £9,800
Beth Carter Fallen Minotaur, Bronze Edition of 10 48 x 32 x 31 cm.Beth Carter Fallen Minotaur, Bronze Edition of 10 48 x 32 x 31 cm.
Fallen Minotaur, Bronze Ed. of 10 48 x 32 x 31 cm. £5,850
Beth Carter,Girl in Boat Bronze, Ed of 10, 37 x 30 x 12 cmBeth Carter,Girl in Boat Bronze, Ed of 10, 37 x 30 x 12 cm
Girl in Boat, Bronze Ed. 4 of 10 37 x 30 x 12 cm. £2,900
Fallen Minotaur, Bronze Edition of 10 48 x 32 x 31 cm.Fallen Minotaur, Bronze Edition of 10 48 x 32 x 31 cm.
Fallen Minotaur, Bronze Ed. of 10 48 x 32 x 31 cm. £5,850
Horsechild, Bronze Ed. 4 of 8 94 x 54 x 38 cm.
Horsechild, Bronze Ed. 4 of 8 94 x 54 x 38 cm.
Horsechild, Bronze Ed. 4 of 8 94 x 54 x 38 cm.
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King Minos, Bronze Ed. 2 of 10 23 x 23 x 16 cm. £5,700
beth carterbeth carter
King Minos, Bronze Ed. 2 of 10 23 x 23 x 16 cm. £5,700
beth carterbeth carter
King Minos, Bronze Ed. 2 of 10 23 x 23 x 16 cm. £5,700
Beth Carter Theseus with Candle ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. of 10 h45 x 23 x 21 cm.Beth Carter Theseus with Candle ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. of 10 h45 x 23 x 21 cm.
Theseus with Candle ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. 2 of 10 h45 x 23 x 21 cm. £5,700
Beth Carter The Innocents, Bronze Ed. of 10 h51 x 28 x 18 cm.Beth Carter The Innocents, Bronze Ed. of 10 h51 x 28 x 18 cm.
The Innocents, Bronze Ed. of 10 h51 x 28 x 18 cm. : Archived
Beth Carter Theseus with Candle ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. of 10 h45 x 23 x 21 cm.Beth Carter Theseus with Candle ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. of 10 h45 x 23 x 21 cm.
Theseus with Candle ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. 2of 10 h45 x 23 x 21 cm. £5,700
Beth Carter Standing Minotaur ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. of 10 h38 x 23 x 21 cm.Beth Carter Standing Minotaur ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. of 10 h38 x 23 x 21 cm.
Standing Minotaur ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. 3 of 10 h38 x 23 x 21 cm. £5,400
Beth Carter Sleeping Minotaur ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. of 10 h19 x 23 x 21 cm.Beth Carter Sleeping Minotaur ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. of 10 h19 x 23 x 21 cm.
Sleeping Minotaur ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. 2 of 10 h19 x 23 x 21 cm. £3,600
Beth Carter Standing Minotaur ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. of 10 h38 x 23 x 21 cm.Beth Carter Standing Minotaur ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. of 10 h38 x 23 x 21 cm.
Standing Minotaur ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. 3 of 10 h38 x 23 x 21 cm. £5,400
Beth Carter King Minos ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. of 10 h50 x 32 x 24 cm.Beth Carter King Minos ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. of 10 h50 x 32 x 24 cm.
King Minos ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. 2 of 10 h50 x 32 x 24 cm. £5,700
Beth Carter King Minos, Bronze Ed. of 10 23 x 23 x 16 cm.Beth Carter King Minos, Bronze Ed. of 10 23 x 23 x 16 cm.
King Minos, Bronze Ed. 2 of 10 23 x 23 x 16 cm. £5,700
Beth Carter King Minos ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. of 10 h50 x 32 x 24 cm.Beth Carter King Minos ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. of 10 h50 x 32 x 24 cm.
King Minos ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. 2 of 10 h50 x 32 x 24 cm. £5,700
Petal Repairer (detail), Bronze Ed. 2 of 15 61 x 28 x 22 cm. £3,600
Beth Carter, The Watchman Bronze, Ed of 10, 78 x 69 x 28cmBeth Carter, The Watchman Bronze, Ed of 10, 78 x 69 x 28cm
The Watchman, Bronze Ed. of 10 78 x 69 x 28 cm. Sold
Beth Carter Standing Minotaur II, Bronze Ed. of 8 h89 x 35 x 30 cm.Beth Carter Standing Minotaur II, Bronze Ed. of 8 h89 x 35 x 30 cm.
Standing Minotaur II, Bronze Ed. 7 of 8 89 x 35 x 30 cm. £9,000
Beth Carter, Pegasus Bronze, Ed of 10, 62 x 60 x 32cmBeth Carter, Pegasus Bronze, Ed of 10, 62 x 60 x 32cm
Pegasus, Bronze Ed. 1 of 10 62 x 60 x 32 cm. £7,600
Crowmask, Bronze Ed. 15 35 x 24 x 18 cm. Sold
Beth Carter Broken Carnival Bronze, Ed of 10, 70 x 30 x 49cmBeth Carter Broken Carnival Bronze, Ed of 10, 70 x 30 x 49cm
Broken Carnival, Bronze Ed. 4 of 10 70 x 30 x 49 cm. £10,200
Beth Carter Fighting Clowns I, Iron Resin Ed. of 10 h84 x 84 cm.Beth Carter Fighting Clowns I, Iron Resin Ed. of 10 h84 x 84 cm.
Fighting Clowns I, Iron Resin Ed. 1 of 10 84 x 84 cm. Sold
Beth Carter Fighting Clowns II, Iron Resin Ed. of 10 h84 x 84 cm.Beth Carter Fighting Clowns II, Iron Resin Ed. of 10 h84 x 84 cm.
Fighting Clowns II, Iron Resin Ed. 1 of 10 84 x 84 cm. £3,600
Beth Carter Fighting Clowns III, Iron Resin Ed. of 10 h84 x 84 cm.Beth Carter Fighting Clowns III, Iron Resin Ed. of 10 h84 x 84 cm.
Fighting Clowns III, Iron Resin Ed. 1 of 10 84 x 84 cm. Sold
Beth Carter,Brothers Bronze, Ed of 10, 89 x 45 x 32cmBeth Carter,Brothers Bronze, Ed of 10, 89 x 45 x 32cm
Brothers, Bronze Ed. of 10 89 x 45 x 32 cm. Sold
Beth Carter Minotaur and Moth ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. of 10 h30 x 23 x 21 cm.Beth Carter Minotaur and Moth ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. of 10 h30 x 23 x 21 cm.
Minotaur and Moth ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. 1 of 10 30 x 23 x 21 cm. £4,100
Beth Carter, Brothers Bronze, Ed of 10, 89 x 45 x 32cmBeth Carter, Brothers Bronze, Ed of 10, 89 x 45 x 32cm
Brothers (detail), Bronze Ed. of 10 89 x 45 x 32 cm. Sold
Beth Carter The Innocents, Bronze Ed. of 10 h51 x 28 x 18 cm.Beth Carter The Innocents, Bronze Ed. of 10 h51 x 28 x 18 cm.
The Innocents, Bronze Ed. of 10 h51 x 28 x 18 cm. : Archived
Beth Carter Minotaur and Moth ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. of 10 h30 x 23 x 21 cm.Beth Carter Minotaur and Moth ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. of 10 h30 x 23 x 21 cm.
Minotaur and Moth ¾ Study, Bronze Ed. 1 of 10 h30 x 23 x 21 cm. £4,100
Fox and Pheasant, Bronze Ed. 15 50 x 27 x 25 cm. Sold
Boxer (detail), Bronze Ed. 4 of 15 96 x 30 x 26 cm. : Archived
Beth Carter Monkey and Horse, Bronze Ed. of 10 50 x 27 x 29 cm.Beth Carter Monkey and Horse, Bronze Ed. of 10 50 x 27 x 29 cm.
Monkey and Horse, Bronze Ed. of 10 50 x 27 x 29 cm. Sold
Wolf with Deer, Bronze Ed. 15 71 x 28 x 23 cm. Sold
Unicorn and Girl, Bronze Ed. 15 Unicorn 22 x 14 x 8 cm Girl 20 x 11 x 14 cm. Sold
Messenger, Bronze Ed. 8 of 15 50 x 26 x 24 cm. £3,360
Fairy on a Stool, Bronze Ed. 15 37 x 13 x 9 cm. Sold
Beth Carter Giant Crouching Minotaur, Bronze Ed. of 8 90 x 85 x 80cmBeth Carter Giant Crouching Minotaur, Bronze Ed. of 8 90 x 85 x 80cm
Giant Crouching Minotaur, Bronze Ed. of 8 90 x 85 x 80 cm. Sold
Beth Carter Clockwork Bear, Bronze Ed. of 15 h23 x 13 x 19 cm.Beth Carter Clockwork Bear, Bronze Ed. of 15 h23 x 13 x 19 cm.
Clockwork Bear, Bronze Ed. 3 of 15 h23 x 13 x 19 cm. £2,100
Grinder's Monkey (detail), Bronze Ed. 2 of15 82 x 27 x 19 cm. £5,520
Small Minotaur Bust, Bronze Ed. of 15 13 x 10 x 10 cm. Sold
Beth Carter Pinocchio Bronze, Ed of 10 48 x 35 x 34cmBeth Carter Pinocchio Bronze, Ed of 10 48 x 35 x 34cm
Pinocchio, Bronze Ed. 1 of 10 48 x 35 x 34 cm. £4,500
About

Beth Carter graduated from Sunderland University in 1995 with a degree in Fine Arts. Following this, she spent time travelling in Sri Lanka and India to pursue the practice and history of mythological and devotional figure-making.

Carter’s bronze sculptures reference the characters of the Hellenic and European pantheon, bringing them to life as brooding, mysterious protagonists, lifted into the contemporary everyday. They are conceptually and technically rich, meticulous and complex. The beasts morph human with animal form, her characteristic minotaur is given, for instance, the skill of reading, and he sits stooped, quietly and contemplative, reading his tiny gilded book. In their personification and re-situation into the contemporary world, Carter’s sculptures are at once other-worldly, haunting and strange, and then strangely familiar.

Beth Carter exhibits internationally and her work is in private collections across Europe, USA, Canada, South America, Asia and Australia, and in the permanent collections of the Musee d’Art Classique de Mougins, France and the Muskegon Museum of Art, Michigan.

 

Artist Statement

“Working within the realms of a sculptural tradition where the symbolic use of animal imagery is a potent and continuous source, my work creates allegories by, amongst other things, integrating the human form with animal forms. The resulting imagery holds both a timeless significance and a contemporary relevance despite and because of our separation from the natural world. It is important for me that my sculpture and drawings are accessible on an individual level as well as implicating more archetypal themes common to human experience.”

CV

Education
1992-1995            BA (Hons) Fine Art. Sunderland University, UK
1993-1994            Placement at the Cyprus College of Art, Cyprus

Awards and Travel
2016                       National Open Art Prize, South West Winner
2007-09                 Travelled to Gambia, Kenya and Tanzania
2006                       Two month Residency at Bronze Casting Foundry, in Guadalajara, Mexico
2004                       Olympia Artfair, London (Individual Artist Award)
2002                       Travelled and Worked in New Zealand (Womad: World of Music and Dance)
2000                       South West Arts, UK, Individual Artist Award to produce new body of work
1997                       Travel in Sri Lanka and India to study devotional/mythological sculpture
1996                       Northern Arts, UK, Travel Award to Crete
1996                       South West Arts, UK, Travel assistance grant
1995                       Northern Graduates Show, The Royal College of Art, London (Awarded 1st Prize)

Selected Exhibitions

2020

Beasts, Arusha, Edinburgh

There is no dark until something shines… , Hugo Galerie, Soho, NY, USA

London Art Fair, Stand G20, Beaux Arts Bath

Art In Doom (Springtime Group Exhibition), Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA

 

2019
‘The Summer Exhibition’, Beaux Arts Bath
AAF Spring, Battersea, Stand C3, Beaux Arts Bath
London Art Fair Islington, Stand G20, Beaux Arts Bath
Winter Collective: M Fine Arts Galerie, Boston

2018
Mixed Summer Exhibition, Beaux Arts Bath
Shadow Stories, Solo Show, LKFF Brussels
London Art Fair Islington, Stand G20, Beaux Arts Bath
Sawdust and Sequins: The Art of the Circus, Royal West of England Academy, Bristol

2017
Solo Exhibition, Beaux Arts Bath
Spike Island Open Studios, Bristol
Artists of Fame and Promise, Mixed Summer Show, Beaux Arts Bath

2016
LAPADA, London, Beaux Arts Bath
NOA Competition, South West Prize Winner, Mercer’s Hall London
London Art Fair, Islington, London, Beaux Arts Bath
AAF Battersea, Beaux Arts Bath

2015
Winter Collective Part I, Bertrand Delacroix Gallery, New York
The Shining Guest, View Art Gallery, Bristol

2013
London Art Fair, Islington, London

2012
Unnatural-Natural History, Royal West of England Academy
Shadowside, Blackall Studios, London
London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, London

2011
Here and Now, View Art Gallery, Bristol
Darkness to Light, The Octagon Chapel, Bath

2010
Art of Giving, Group Show and Charity Auction, Saatchi Gallery, London
Solo Show, Black Swan Arts, Frome

2009
Chichester National, (Selected National Art Competition)

2008
National Open Exhibition, Royal West of England Academy, Bristol

2006
Beauty and the Beast, Stourhead Gardens, National Trust / Arts Council England
Solo Show, Queens Street Gallery, Emsworth

2005
Solo Show, Badcocks Gallery, Newlyn Cornwall

2004
Olympia Artfair, London (Individual Artist Award)

2000
148th Selected Open Autumn Exhibition, Royal West of England Academy, Bristol

1999
Spike Island Launch Exhibition, Bristol

1997
Fabulous Beasts, Group Show, Hampshire Sculpture Trust, Hampshire

1995
Northern Graduate Show

Writing

– The instincts are a far better protection than all the intellectual wisdom in the world. – C G Jung

 

Beth Carter’s world of sculpture and drawing features a cornucopia of dream-like, circus, or half man-half beast shape-shifters who, at their core embody the contrasts characterised in Robert Browning’s ‘dangerous edge of things’ – honest thieves, tenders murderers, superstitious atheists.  A wolf appears to contemplate his kill pityingly, while a fox steals into the night with a pheasant, which on closer inspection he holds delicately, in human hands, the bird appearing potentially injured rather than ripe for the plucking.

 

Carl Jung talked about dream animals being frightening, or ‘minatory’; about how they would often appear to the subconscious engaging in strange behaviour or exaggerated in size. This he claimed was connected to how we deal with our  instincts, our inner nature; about coping with our raison d’être. The human being it seems, reveals himself to be prone simultaneously to contradictory forces, accommodating the tendency to be both  ‘goodie’ and ‘baddie’ in this chimeric hinterland.

 

Some of Beth’s sculptures, despite engendering intuitive, emotional or animal responses, take as their cue her own life experience. Particularly significant is the death in recent years of her artist father, a physically imposing,  larger-than- life figure who was prone to depression.  Looking at her minotaur creations, the largest of these is physically impressive, but with his head lowered he appears trapped in his own labyrinth, shorn of his power, rendered gentle. Another minotaur has his attention fixed in concentration on a moth cupped delicately in his hands.  Beth describes how in a large chaotic  family her father’s discovery of reading changed his life and helped him to be more contemplative.

 

In Man and Dog, though it is not the black dog of depression, the baleful figure’s closed eyes shrouded in gauze take on a pensive, inward demeanour.  Like most of her standing figures, the stance is diffident, demur even. The  dog is heavy, but the man’s head is bowed in acceptance of his fate as carrier, the little clown’s hat bringing a touch of pathos to the piece.

 

Figures which should carry threat are often disarmed by innocence. Standing Elephant depicts an adolescent boy’s lower body touching his pachyderm face self-consciously.  Grinder’s Monkey  seems less trickster and more a figure being comforted by his diminutive sidekick.  Both monkey and elephant stand, as with Man and Dog, awkwardly, as if embarrassed by their very presence. The Frink-like Boxer has his head uncharacteristically raised (most figures look bashfully downward) though this seems only to emphasise that he may have taken a battering. His fighting days are surely numbered.

 

It is a notable irony that the smallest sculpture in the show wears a crown, and looks optimistically out towards the sunny uplands. The little guy is king. This is a typically oxymoronic trope, an elision of contrasting ideas that invites further consideration. Indeed the choice of animals is itself significant, the monkey and elephant with their highly developed intelligence calling  to mind the gods Hanuman and Ganesh; or indeed the dogs, horses and bulls, which we can also in our global village spot as emissaries to the after-life, depicted on ancient walls from Lhasa or Luxor. The animist symbolism runs deep. These messengers, amid ill-fitting hats and masks and tassels, are somehow familiar to us, and part of the fun of considering their import is figuring out why. Or as Yeats put it, The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper. 

 

Aidan Quinn

July 2015, Catalogue Essay

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