The Sculpture programme at the RCA enjoys a long history of involving itself in the discourse of form making: it was here in the twentieth century that Henry Moore first developed his working confidence. As social, political and economic circumstances have changed, so has the ebb and flow of the debate.
Consequently, the twenty-first-century artist has an understanding that sculpture, or perhaps more accurately, a ‘sculptural attitude’ embraces a broad, inclusive spectrum of possibilities. Objects, film, photography, installation, muscular and mechanical kinetics, text, sound and performance are all mainstays of a contemporary vision.
The Sculpture programme actively encourages this diversity, particularly within a framework that celebrates an accent on both haptic and spatial curiosity. Students are encouraged to adopt a liminal approach to understanding and making work – a fluid and malleable questioning that engages with both philosophy and sensibility.
We welcome approaches from people of diverse backgrounds and experience. Students who have decided to gather in metropolitan London expect to further their own debate, as much by self-motivated free association as by the structures the staff and students invent together.
Download Sculpture Programme Information Pack (PDF)
The programme offers:
- associations with a broad constituency of artists, architects, designers and thinkers across the RCA, with the expectation that the wider discourse this community represents should be a dynamic foil to the work and development of all aspiring RCA Sculpture graduates
- a teaching structure that incorporates individual and group tutorials, crits and seminars
- a dedicated studio space for each student
- a range of technical facilities, including wood and metal workshops, spray rooms and the celebrated Foundry casting in a range of metals including bronze, aluminium and iron, all housed in the Sculpture Building
- dedicated high end computer room with full 3D modelling suite, retouching and moving image workstations, scanning and colour printing
- access to college-wide workshop facilities and printmaking and photography digital printing and retouching suites
- access to the Moving Image Studio
- national and international exchange and residency opportunities, which have included Paris, Kyoto, Dusseldorf, the Hague and Edinburgh
- an ongoing programme of off-site events, exhibitions and commissions
Alumni of Sculpture at the Royal College of Art include world-renowned artists such as Henry Moore, Tony Cragg, Richard Deacon, Barbara Hepworth, Richard Wentworth, Alison Wilding, Jake Chapman, Gavin Turk and Tania Kovats.
More recent alumni include artists of course, but also those who have developed other creative strands, such as Tim Noble, Graham Hudson, Boo Ritson, Jess Flood-Paddock, Soraya Rodriguez, Maaike Schoorel, Nathaniel Mellors, Alice Channer, Matt Golden, Marcus Foster and Leah Capaldi.
Open Days are held at the College between October and January of each academic year, to enable applicants to explore teaching programmes and meet staff and students.