Andrew Rogers (sculptor)

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Andrew Rogers is one of Australia's most distinguished contemporary abstract bronze sculptors with an international reputation. He exhibits internationally and his sculptures are in numerous private and prominent public collections in Australia, S.E. Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the United States of America. His largest works - stone Geoglyphs ranging in size up to 200 sq m/660 sq ft - are commanding worldwide attention. They are situated in the Arava Desert - Israel, the Atacama Desert - Chile, the Bolivian Altiplano, Kurunegala - Sri Lanka, Victoria -Australia, the Gobi Desert - China, Akureyri - Iceland, Rajasthan - India, Cappadocia - Turkey, and Jomson and Pokhara in Nepal. Individually and together the Geoglyphs form a unique art work stretching around the world, titled “The Rhythms of Life” – connecting people with history and heritage. The title, the “Rhythms of Life” is derived from Rogers’ early bronze sculptures [1].

Andrew's works have been presented to leading world figures such as John Howard, Vincent Fox, Efraim Katzir, Richard Butler and Simon Wiesenthal. Rogers’ large outdoor bronzes grace many well-known buildings and have received critical acclaim. Rhythms of Life (see section below), which he began in Israel’s Arava Desert in 1999, is by far his most ambitious project, already extending to ten countries on five continents and commanding worldwide attention.

Andrew Rogers lives in Melbourne Australia and is a full time artist.

[edit] Rhythms of Life project

Bunjil geoglyph at the You Yangs, Lara, Australia, by Andrew Rogers. The creature has a wing span of 100 metres and a 1500 tonnes of rock was used to construct it.

Rogers' “Rhythms of Life” project is the largest contemporary land-art undertaking in the world, forming a chain of stone sculptures, or geoglyphs, around the globe – 12 sites – in disparate exotic locations (from below sea level and up to altitudes of 4,300 m/14,107 ft). Up to three Geoglyphs (ranging in size up to 200 sq m/660 sq ft) are located in each site.

Monumental geoglyphs have been constructed in ten countries since 1999: Israel, Chile, Bolivia, Sri Lanka, Australia, Iceland, China, India, Turkey and Nepal, which are part of a chain of 12 sites created around the world. Outside the City of Melbourne, in Geelong, a “Rhythms of Life” site was commissioned in association with the Commonwealth Games 2006. In China the “Rhythms of Life” walls stretch 2.1 km.

Future locations will include the United States, Africa, the United Kingdom and Eastern Europe. By completion, the project will have involved over 5,000 people on six continents (550 in Bolivia, 852 in Sri Lanka, 1000 in China and in India, and 450 in Nepal).

According to Hannes Sigurdsson, Director of the Akureyri Museum in Iceland,

“The Rhythms of Life project by Australian artist Andrew Rogers is the largest contemporary land-art project in the world, forming a chain of stone sculptures, or geoglyphs, around the globe. Monumental geoglyphs have been constructed in ten countries to date: Israel, Chile, Bolivia, Sri Lanka, Australia, Iceland, China, India, Turkey and Nepal. Future locations will include the United States, United Kingdom, Eastern Europe and Africa. By completion, the project will have involved over 5,000 people on six continents. The Rhythms of Life sculptures are optimistic metaphors for the eternal cycle of life and regeneration, expressive and suggestive of human striving and introspection. The geoglyphs embrace a wide cultural vision that links memory and various symbols derived from ancient rock carvings, paintings and legends in each region; they punctuate time and extend history into the distant future while delving into the depths of our heritage in pursuit of the spiritual. The exhibition at the Akureyri Art Museum in Iceland is the first general survey of the project.”

Lilly Wei, an independent curator based in New York writes:

“Rogers believes that accelerating environmental changes with their potentially catastrophic consequences are much less avoidable these days and therefore much more heeded. Hopefully, he is right. Since the inception of his geoglyphs, it has been one of the artist's purposes to point to the irreplaceable beauties of the earth, both existent and man-made. By creating contemporary megaliths as markers, Rogers insists on the need to preserve this natural and artistic heritage for ourselves and for the future.”

Three good examples of 'The Rhythms of Life' are:

1 "The Ancients" This geoglyph is derived from a 6000 year old "pictureglyph" known as "El Señor de los Báculos" located in the Rio Loa area near Calama, Chile. The geoglyph is located at an altitude of 2469 m (8100 ft) above sea level, on the Llano de la Paciencia (Plain of Patience), 13 km from the town of San Pedro de Atacama.

The stone walls forming this geoglyph, constructed from volcanic rock and clay, are 1200 m (3936 ft) in length.

This image forms part of the pastoral cosmology. The sun cuts across this "pictureglyph" at the solstice.

2 "The Rhythms of Life" This geoglyph is located at 2603 m (8500 ft) on the Cordillera de la Sal (Salt Mountains), which rise from the Llano de la Paciencia, and form the head of the Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon), a geological formation of lunar appearance, approximately 14 km from the town of San Pedro de Atacama.

3 "Ancient Language" This geoglyph is about 80 m long by 2.8 m high, and is inspired by a 4800 year old petroglyph iconography, carved into stone in the surrounding area, Yerbas Buenas, 20 km from the Rio Grande.

[edit] Works

Solo exhibitions & displays

2007 Poprad, Slovakia: Rhythms of Life I-VII
2007 Akureyri Art Museum, Akureyri, Iceland: Rhythms of Life I-VII
2007 James Gray Gallery, Santa Monica, USA
2007 William Mora Gallery, Richmond, Australia
2005 Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne, Australia
2004 Grounds for Sculpture, New Jersey, U.S.A.
2004 Gomboc Sculpture Park, W.A. Australia
2003 Deakin University "Rhythms of Life" Survey Exhibition, Victoria, Australia
2002 Auronzo di Cadore, Italy
2002 Le Venezie, Treviso, Italy
2002 Mudima Foundation, Milan , Italy
1999 Boritzer Gray Hamano, Santa Monica, California, USA "Rhythms of Life"
1998 Embassy of Australia, Washington, United States of America, "Rhythms of Life"
1997 Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Victoria, Australia, "Rhythms of Life"
1994 Meridian Gallery, Victoria, Australia "Of Freedom & Will"
1993 Meridian Gallery, Victoria, Australia "Mankind in the Gesture of an Individual"