Nicholas Pope, a pioneering British sculptor known for his use of natural materials and later vibrant, unconventional works, has died aged 77.
Early Career and Venice Biennale
In the 1980s, Pope was a young lion of British art, representing the UK alongside Tim Head at the 1980 Venice Biennale. He participated in Arts Council exhibitions such as The Condition of Sculpture (1975) and Nature As Material (1980).
Pushing Materials to the Limit
Pope tested his materials to the edge of destruction. His piece Mr and Mrs Arnolfini (1978) pushed Bath stone to its shatterpoint. Leaning Chalk (1975) stood 1.8 metres high and would collapse if one more gram of weight or degree of slope were added. As the Tate catalogue entry for Stacked Lead (1976) states: “The works in this series are only correctly exhibited if they appear to be about to fall over.”
Life-Changing Illness
Pope contracted an encephalitic virus in Tanzania in 1982 while studying wood-carving techniques on a British Council fellowship. He had married artist Janet Bonehill in 1976; their daughter Mary was born in 1981. Janet recalled: “When the brain-burrowing virus struck Nick down, I had two toddlers to look after.”
Treatment at Hereford County Hospital’s brain injury clinic, led by Dr Dave Quinn, rebuilt Pope’s health and confidence. Energetic free-scribbling, sometimes two-handed and accompanied by Elvis and Buddy Holly at maximum volume, shifted his art into new, non-natural materials such as epoxy resin, ceramics, oilbar, knitting and coloured glass.
New Artistic Direction
His colours soared into dazzling primaries, and his forms in drawing and sculpture became soft, pulpy and unpredictable. Knitting on large needles with no plan or pattern led to works including his Mr and Mrs Pope series, complex hanging sculptures evoking married intimacy of intermingled internal organs. Pope washed this knitting at the highest heat on the most brutal cycle available on his washing machine, and sent the resulting lump to Beijing. Artisanal sculptors there expressed what they found in marble and returned it for display at his 2013 exhibition at Roche Court, Salisbury.
Masterpiece: Apostles Speaking in Tongues
His masterpiece was Apostles Speaking in Tongues Lit By Their Own Lamps (1993-96), tall plant-like terracotta figures each bearing an oil lamp evoking the speaking in tongues in the gospels. They were first shown together in the New Art room at Tate Britain (1996) and in 2014 around the apse of Salisbury Cathedral.
Personal Life and Legacy
Born in Sydney, Australia, Pope was the third of five sons of Ernle Pope, a Royal Navy officer (later vice-admiral), and his wife Pamela (nee Davies). He attended Charterhouse, followed by Farnham and Corsham Schools of Art. He and the writer met in 1974 when he took part in the City Art Project at Portsmouth and Southsea. Pope’s contribution was a technically self-supporting arch made out of 30 oak blocks, since destroyed.
Outside his art, Pope worked as a Samaritan counsellor and with Janet created an orchard at their home in Much Marcle, Herefordshire, where in the 2010s they made and marketed Pope’s Perry. Janet died in 2020. Pope is survived by Mary and two grandchildren.
