Stile 2024
corten steel 230 X 180 X 68 cm edition 10
Adam Rish started making sculptural forms in 1986, when while working in a studio in Tuscany, he became fascinated with Baroque picture frames. In Rish’s version of these frames the images from his canvases spilt onto the gilded surface in 3D stucco forms. In 1990 Rish enrolled in a sculpture diploma at East Sydney Technical College (now The National Art School) making a series of bronze statues.
For a period of 16 years from 2007 he made wooden sculptures, but in 2023, on moving his studio to the artists’ colony of Hill End, NSW, he returned to metal and commenced making modular pieces in lasercut, corten steel. The works are drawn initially freehand but then rendered in Adobe Illustrator. Rish then cuts tenth scale maquettes in plywood on his home laser cut to check how the pieces function in 3D. When happy he then has these files cut in full size, into 3 mm and 6mm steel sheet at Laserbend, an industrial cutter, in nearby Bathurst. The pieces have been welded by Rish into 3D shapes but designed to be demountable, with a system of bolts, for ease of transport and assembly. The works are made in editions of 10 as required.
Tree Hugger 2023
corten steel 238 X 200 X 75 cm edition 10
Howzat 2023
corten steel 293 X 198 X 56 cm edition 10293
Gone To Pot 2023
corten steel 120 X 45 X 35 cm edition 10
Odalisque 2024
corten steel 212 X 46 X 43 cm edition 10
As I Crossed the Bridge Of Dream 2023
corten steel 149 X 200 X 45 cm edition 10
Bookworm 2009
albesea wood, wax
145H X 25D X 100W cm
Cat Woman 2010
albesea wood, wax,
140H X 32D X 50W cm
My Kingdom for a Horse 2007
albesea wood, wax
180 X 260 X 45cm, Bali
Orang TV 2007
albesea wood, wax
180 X 75 X 50 cm
A Delicate Balance 2009
albesea wood, wax
126H X 120L X 40W cm
Metamorphosis 2007
albesea wood, wax
105 X 70 X 20 cm
In 2007 Adam Rish commenced working with I Wayan Sumantra in Ubud, Bali. Rish designed the pieces on site, as scale drawings, simply drawn with a 2B (… or not 2B that is the …) pencil and ruler. He discussed the production process with Wayan and helped select the wood. The works are produced by Wayan in Ubud and then shipped to Sydney where Rish does the final detailing, polishing and waxing, sometimes carving new parts for the sculptures. The pieces are modular and slot together with pins for ease of transport and storage.
Since 2019, for reasons of durability in exterior locations, Rish started work with Timorese sculptor Johanes Susi Ono, making his designs in teak wood rather than the fragile albesea.
Naga, is based upon a medicine horn shape from Sumatra with a figure riding an ancestral dragon. A Noah like dove – although in this case a chicken – sits upon his head. Beans has an anthropomorphic, winged lion staring at a half opened tin of baked beans. Garuda/Bali Bomber is a Garuda with machine gun wings about to drop the “big one”. Banci/Nuclear Unit is not so much the Indonesia meaning of transsexual but more an hermaphrodite complete with an interior of domestic bliss – car, house, baby, beer, TV.
Technical Notes
The sculptures have been made into modular pieces so the slot together with pins for ease of transport and storage. For more stability they may be glued into place. Also screws through the feet into the floor will support them. The teak sculptures may be left outside as in the case of traditional sculpture and the artist likes the idea of them changing and graying with the elements. They are however made of wood so make break down if left exposed for more than 20 years. The pieces are made in an edition of 5 but as they are handmade, without power tools, considerable variation may occur in their final form.
On A Roll 2023
laser cut plywood maquette
10 X 19 X 5 cm