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.
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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.
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. They 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 soft wood so make break down if left exposed for more than 10 years. The pieces are made in an edition of 5 but as they are handmade, without power tools, considerable variation may occur in final form.