Sarah Kaye Rodden

Sarah Kaye Rodden’s sculptural pieces are grounded in a deep appreciation for her raw material, which range from leather of varying shades to ancient bog oak. “My great great grandfather was a tanner and saddler in Yorkshire, and my desire to work with traditional materials, particularly leather, stems from this connection with my past,” says Kaye Rodden. “My process begins with a medium that captures my imagination, and becomes a playful and intuitive journey to discover what it can do. I’ve always liked the minimal intervention approach of artists like Richard Serra – it makes sense to me. These raw materials have a lovely quality of their own. I have the utmost respect for them, and try to let them speak.” As well as Serra, she is deeply moved by the works of Vermeer, Whistler, and Anthony Caro.

Kaye Rodden works from her home studio in the front space of a 15th century house in Brasted, UK. She learned to draw and paint from Royal Academy of Art professor Saied Dai, and studied Fine Art at Newcastle University. She worked as a conceptual designer for Thomas Heatherwick, Ilse Crawford and Faye Toogood, spanning the disciplines of installation, public art, and interiors. She has held solo shows at the House of Toogood and PricewaterhouseCoopers, and has exhibited with Curwen Gallery and Hammersons in London.

Her tactile leather sculptures are emphatically sensory and dynamic, changing tone and moving subtly over time, their scent drifting through the spaces they inhabit. Much of her work is inspired by relics from the past, such as a detail of a 17th century painting, or the sculptural forms found in a traditional saddle. “I love taking the time to stop and truly appreciate these details, and let them inspire my work. For instance, I like working in vellum, which was what the Magna Carta was written on. I find it an exciting challenge to discover a new way of working with a medium that has been around for so long.” In reaching for traditional materials to create her contemporary forms, Kaye Rodden’s work occupies a middle ground between the two, and in that tension, her pieces are realised.