DAVID BEGBIE

The artist

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1955. Begbie completed seven years at Art School where he emerged with a unique sculptural technique and the beginnings of a new visual language using steelmesh. The preoccupation with the human form as his subject stems from an early age, the fascination for reproducing figurative bodies in steelmesh has developed extensively over the last twenty years. Recently Begbie has achieved the fine sculpting detail of musculature and human form which has already been compared to Michelangelo and Rodin.

The real thrill of Begbie’s work is the experience of seeing it "in the flesh”, the sculpted bodies are powerful, erotic, tactile, and intimate. For the viewer the steelmesh material adds intrigue yet is somehow familiar; when you first experience Begbie’s bodies you are curious to know how the perfection of form is achieved. On looking further you become familiar with the properties of the sculpture - the wiremesh creates a liveliness and sense of movement that is further enhanced by the use of shadowplay with strategic lighting. Look again closely and you see that there is not even a skin, only a graphic delineation of one.