'The day I stop learning is probably the day I give up,’ says Halima Cassell. It’s a sentiment many artists might express, but for the UK-based sculptor it seems particularly true – while she is best known for working with clay, she has also tackled stone, concrete, jesmonite, marble, wood, iron and bronze over the course of her career, learning from experts in each material, and producing highly acclaimed works across the spectrum. When we speak over a video call in June 2021, she is preparing to have a crack at glass during a month-long residency at The Glass Foundry in Stroud.
‘I’ve always been interested in the material – I’ve got a kiln that does both glass and ceramics,’ she says. ‘I might end up using it to cast clay models like I did with bronze, rather than the subtractive process I use with clay, or I might engrave it. What excites me is the idea of developing my work while keeping the thread of my style throughout.’ Cassell’s affinity with materials is remarkable, observes Joanna Bird, whose London-based gallery has represented her for the past decade. ‘Halima can harness the necessary forces to transform a lump of clay, a 20-foot piece of wood or a wheelbarrow of concrete into a sublime hand-carved artefact,’ she says. ‘Her perspicacity and artistic interpretation are at work constantly, making every curve in her pieces meaningful.’
Regardless of medium, these curves are instantly recognisable: simple in form and colour, Cassell’s weighty sculptures are adorned with complex, hypnotic shapes that lure the eye towards them. Nine of her towering works are currently installed in the gardens of Glyndebourne opera house in East Sussex ((20 May–31 October 2021), including four sitespecific pieces inspired by their rural and built surroundings.
Their organic shapes and natural materials are both in harmony with the bucolic landscape and stand out from it – a cast-iron pair of works called Memento Mori, for example, resembles a cross between seed-pods and flames; Hurricane, in jesmonite and fibreglass, reflects the colour of the white lilies that overlook the lake; while Primavera, made from Carrera marble, echoes the shapes of nearby roses. ‘Halima is a pioneer,’ says Glyndebourne’s curator Nerissa Taysom. ‘I’ve always been fascinated by her ability to transform pattern into something three-dimensional, and the relationship in her work between nature and architecture.’