Manny Woodard

Creating art has always been an integral part of Manny’s life.  From working as a graphic designer and retouching artwork and stencil making for a Fine Art publisher, to creating her own body of work.

Manny is fascinated with the subtle interplay between people, their thoughts and their environments and uses her art to convey the emotion of these moments.

Initially embracing black and white drawings, using charcoal, conté or pencil, Manny has also developed beautiful, soulful sculptures of seemly ordinary people caught in a moment of time.

Conceptualized in maquette, then sculpted in clay, plaster or wax Manny creates textural surfaces using her hands, metal tools and found natural objects.  She embraces the random marks that are created in the process and finds beauty in the imperfections.

Manny skillfully moulds and casts all her own sculptures in jesmonite or resin with graphite and bronze.  The patina is then achieved by the laying on of earth pigments, overlaid with a protective varnish or wax.

Her figures vary – some stand alone, contemplative off the passage of time, feet planted solidly on the ground, whilst others display couples, with their bodies lightly touching and their forms merging into each other, some a tantalizing balance between a caress and aggression.

Through these powerful yet delicate sculptures and drawings Manny invites the viewer to take a moment, and to explore the dynamic world which surrounds each quiet pause.

Manny’s works are an expression of herself, her “own hand writing”.  Her sculptures and drawings are executed with a humanity that exudes an innate sense of beauty and integrity.

This most recent work is on a larger scale and in both Jesmonite and Bronze and Graphite Resin.

Exhibitions

Chelsea Art Society – Winner of Best Sculpture prize
The Discerning Eye –Mall Gallery London–Winner of The Crispen Odey Prize
Lingwood Samuel Gallery
Morningside Gallery Edinburgh
Petworth House, National Trust