Helaine Blumenfeld – Messenger of the Spirit, 2006 (bronze). (Click on image to enlarge).
A retrospective by one of Britain’s leading contemporary sculptors in marble and bronze, Helaine Blumenfeld OBE, takes place at Salisbury Cathedral from April 13 to September 8. Messenger of the Spirit brings together eighteen pieces created throughout a career spanning more than four decades. It includes four new site-specific pieces: Esprit 2013, Mysteries, The Space Within and Flight.
“When people come into the context of Salisbury Cathedral, they enter the grounds prepared for a spiritual experience” says Blumenfeld. “As the title of the exhibition suggests, art can be the bearer of this message. I have always believed that revelation can emanate from the spirit when our minds are clear enough to receive the impact of it.”
Salisbury is unique amongst medieval English cathedrals having been built in just 38 years (1220 – 1258) in a single architectural style, early English Gothic. The tower and spire (Britain’s tallest) were added about 50 years later. As well as a historic building it is a living church and a place of spirituality that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. Salisbury Cathedral is rich in contemporary artworks including pieces by Elisabeth Frink, Gabriel Loire, William Pye and Emily Young. Twelve of the Blumenfeld works will be located inside the Cathedral itself and six monumental works will be outside in the surrounding Cathedral Close.