Tessa Campbell Fraser was born in Edinburgh in 1967. She studied at the Chelsea School of Art. She established herself through the 90s and beyond in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional work, winning many awards and exhibiting at the Royal Academy Summer Show, Delamore Sculpture Park, Quenington Sculpture Park and Christie's, amongst others. In 2004, she was elected a Fellow…
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Tessa Campbell Fraser was born in Edinburgh in 1967. She studied at the Chelsea School of Art.
She established herself through the 90s and beyond in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional work, winning many awards and exhibiting at the Royal Academy Summer Show, Delamore Sculpture Park, Quenington Sculpture Park and Christie's, amongst others.
In 2004, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors. In the same year, she was invited to have a major solo exhibition of her sculpture and drawings at the Natural History Museum in London.
Her work can be found in public and private collections in the UK, Denmark, South Africa, the USA, Australia and Monaco, and in the collections of Her Majesty the Queen, His Royal Highness Prince Fahd bin Salman, William Grant & Son and Sir Jackie Stewart.
Her work to date has focused mainly on animal and human subject matter, drawing inspiration from a wide range of sources including pre-historic cave paintings, inuit sculpture and the classical world. Her work is not merely literal but also sensitive, with allegorical and spiritual influences. She tries to capture the essence of her subject, be it abstract or representational.
"I am a sculptor who is inspired by life, movement, texture and atmosphere. My sculpture seeks to reflect the fragility of nature and man. I see sculpture as a drawing in three dimensions, using light and shadow to act upon the planes of the sculpted surface. The work need not always be literal; to capture human sensibilities is what the best art is all about."
She works in clay, incorporating a variety of materials and using bold tool marks to form craggy surfaces, which create discrete abstract textures.
"The process of sculpting a project is ever-evolving and ongoing, the dynamics developing continuously from start to finish. The larger the sculpture gets, the more conclusive and powerful it becomes, a process that I find exciting and rewarding."
