Catalogue essay by Kate Larsen Adelaide-based sculptor Peter Syndicas returns to Melbourne with ‘Origins’, his first solo exhibition within his home town. The title of his latest collection refers not only to the elemental beginnings of Syndicas’ work, but to the influences of place and family, and the sense of coming home to where his twenty-year fascination with organic, natural shapes began.
Syndicas takes a unique approach to the human form, as found within the simplest fragments of nature – with each piece inspired by a twig, vineyard cutting, piece of coral or side-of-the-road stone. The artist’s observations of such objects (and the landscapes in which he finds them) make Syndicas’ work an exercise in duality. Both biological and anatomical, each piece is both an interpretation of an offshoot, sprig or stone as well as an impression of an abstract human form.
Magnified and revealed in bronze, steel or marble, the delicate lines and shapes of Syndicas’ angled sculptural pieces translate something delicate and easily-overlooked into exquisitely articulated permanence. Delicately carved or crafted, each piece is grounded in an intricately specific and respectful sense of place, which harks back to its origins in Melbourne, Adelaide, the Flinders Ranges, Paris or New York.
‘Origins’ also highlights the organic evolution of the artist’s own process through a range of different mediums and techniques – with each one leading and feeding into the next. From his original bronzed branches, to welded forms of mild or stainless steel, and the curved, limbless shapes of South Australian stone that evoke the classical sculptures of Ancient Greece. Through the art of deliberate corrosion or the graceful patina of appreciation and age, Syndicas’ work explores the nurturing warmth of his materials and the beauty to be found in the imperfection of the natural world. Contemplative and peaceful, each is a paused moment of movement – a stillness with the twist and turn of nature at its heart, and an homage to the landscape of which it was once part. Timeless, as much as a moment captured in time.
The depths and textures of metal and stone are revealed through long hours of close, careful work, with each painstakingly created one-off or limited piece taking from five days to five weeks to complete. Traditionally, it has been the artist’s bronzes that have been the most collectable. We are drawn by their warmth to touch them, and the warmth of that touch is what deepens each piece over time. But stone is his current favourite, along with the secrets and fossils that he finds locked inside.
It’s easy to see how the artist’s attention is held by this theme and how it continues to evolve. Indeed, there is a particular poignancy to these pieces right now: in the act of honouring something so fragile and easily forgotten by making it resilient and able to withstand, survive and shine.
Increasingly popular in private collections, commercial commissions and public art settings, the organic flow of Syndicas’ works contrasts particularly well with more modern lines. Each precious, fragile origin provides a stark contrast to the solidity of the significant, breathtaking work it inspires.
ARTIST PROFILE Since beginning his sculptural practice in 1997 Peter Syndicas has shown widely within both curated and award exhibitions. In 2018 he was announced as the Winner of the Sculpture for Sight Award held within the grounds of St Marks College in North Adelaide. He has been a finalist in the Toorak Village Sculpture Exhibition (2019, 2018) and the Waterhouse Natural History Prize (2014, 2008, 2007, 2005). He recently participated in the South Australian Living Artists Festival (2021, 2020, 2018) and the Heysen Sculpture Biennial (2019), located at the historic Hans Heysen studio and gardens in the Adelaide Hills.
