by Ann Elliot

There is geometry in the humming of the strings.
There is music in the spacings of the spheres.

Pythagoras 6th century BC
Quoted in Aristotle Metaphysics

Charles Hadcock, too, places the structures found in music and also in poetry at the heart of his concepts for sculptures.

The titles - Caesura, a pause in the line of verse; Passacaglia, a baroque musical composition in slow triple time composed on a repeated bass line; Cantus, a melody or style of singing used in the medieval church; Couplet, two lines of verse that form a unit alone or as part of a poem; Sesqui-, a prefix, one and a half; Accord, a state in which things are in harmony with each other; Sextus, multiplied by six - all give the viewer ways in which to discover more about his work.

By combining natural form with inorganic structures found in mathematical curve and geometrical section, Hadcock makes complex building blocks. When conjoined they produce the most surprising results: unexpected curves, twists and movement, as well as startling changes in direction. Identical elements are brought together differently within separate compositions that are so unlike that it is challenging to find the plots. The economy of means
with which Hadcock creates large, even monumental sculptures, is undoubtedly impressive, as it means he can realise work in his studio on a scale that others can only achieve when fully established or if commissioned to do so.

Charles Hadcock was born in Derby in 1965. He studied fine art at Gloucestershire College of Arts and Technology (1984-87) and at the Royal College of Art, London (1987-89), specialising in sculpture.

An artist who works frequently to commission, Hadcock's sculptures feature in the collections of Allied Domecq; BAA, Gatwick Airport; ICI plc; Fuller, Smith and Turner; AMEC Developments Limited; Ivory Gate UK Ltd; Sculpture at Goodwood; Brighton and Hove Council; the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, St James Homes Limited and Scottish Widows.

His first solo exhibition was held at 249 Long Lane, London in 1991. Since then he has had some eight solo shows, and has been included in well over twenty group exhibitions from 1989. His residencies include Atelier de les Arques, sponsored by the British Council in France, 1999.

In 2001-02, he took over a derelict factory site in Preston, and has developed it into The Watermark, Art and Design studio complex.

Ann Elliott