Janis Ridley

"For me, sculpture is a process of uncovering hidden ideas from deep within the self. The most compelling works often arise spontaneously, small pieces that seem to materialise directly through my hands. This visceral, intuitive “in the flow” approach remains a defining strength of my practice. Larger sculptures carry a different power. As they unfold, they bring clarity and depth to the psychological intention, revealing themselves gradually in a process that is both grounding and expansive. Wax is central to my work. Fluid, soft, and endlessly malleable, it is forgiving and recyclable, holding no memory of form. Its responsiveness allows me to continually shift proportions, creating new senses of scale and balance that open imaginative possibilities.

 

My influences are deeply embedded in tactile and psychological memory: from Minoan art and Italian Renaissance masters, to Buddhist sculpture of India and China, and to modern figures such as Giacometti, Brancusi, Moore, Frink, and Louise Bourgeois. Their presence resonates through my practice.

 

Recurring themes include family, mother and child, human and horse, angelic figures, and archetypal male and female forms. These works explore individual identity and relationships, interconnected like feathers in a bird’s wing. My Man and Horse series, for instance, reflects the intimate, paradoxical bond of ease, toughness, vulnerability and enigma. The making process itself is a journey of discovery. Each work evolves through making and remaking, often revealing unforeseen ideas that reshape the outcome. This absorption frees the mind, allowing unconscious thought and memory to surface in the work. A central paradox underlies my practice. Wax is fragile and impermanent, yet through the alchemy of the foundry it transforms into bronze -durable, solid, and vital. Only in this final transmutation does the idea achieve its true permanence and presence."​

 

Janis studied at Newcastle upon Tyne School of Art and Design, where she first explored wax as a sculptural medium and developed an interest in photography.

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She went on to earn a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from Exeter College of Art in 1976, taking a mid-course year in Switzerland to broaden her practice.​ After graduating, she taught life drawing at Newcastle upon Tyne School of Art, followed by life drawing and painting in Exeter.

 

In 1983 she was awarded an Arts Council grant for a solo exhibition at Exe Gallery, the gallery of the Exeter College of Art.​

 

Between 1995 and 1997 Ridley pioneered video-conference teaching with BEON, an early online learning platform at the University of Exeter’s School of Education, where she also co-produced the film Color and Movement. By 1998, she had fully transitioned from painting to sculpture.

 

Ridley was elected a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors in 2002. Her public commissions in the UK include Millennium Spirit of Youth (Topsham), Unfolding Love (Exeter Cathedral), Stargazer (Exeter University] Messenger with Bird [Stratford upon Avon] Isness (Kingscote Park, Gloucester).

 

Internationally, her work Rugged Angel was acquired in 2017 as part of the sculpture collection at Bundang Memorial Park, South Korea.​ Her practice has been represented widely at major art fairs in London since 2010, as well as in Hong Kong and New York.

 

Her sculptures are held in private collections across the UK, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Hong Kong, and the USA.​

 

Janis Ridley has exhibited with leading galleries including Edgar Modern and Beaux Arts (Bath), Medici Gallery (London), Stour Gallery, Coombe Gallery (Dartmouth), Alan Kluckow Gallery, Moncrieff-Bray Gallery, Josie Eastwood Gallery, The Garden Gallery (Hampshire), The Sculpture Park (Farnham), University of Exeter, Otomys, and Lympstone Manor and Nadia Waterfield Fine Art.​ Her work is profiled in 50 Women Sculptors (2020), and she presented a solo exhibition at Coombe Gallery, Dartmouth, in 2021 and  Exeter Cathedral in 2023.​​​