Blue Birds II

Location

Country: Brazil
City: Sao Paulo
Place: Consulate-General

A cross-section of rocks and sediment, 'Blue Birds II' resembles an educational geographical model of the White Cliffs of Dover. To wartime soldiers returning from France, the cliffs were emblems of home, and by fixing her sculpture to the wall, Kovats literally recreates that view. In the 1940s Vera Lynn's song "(There'll be blue birds over) The White Cliffs of Dover" epitomised the faith and hope of wartime Britain. Kovats' work reinforces the national identity, history and nostalgia deeply encoded in the geology of the Cliffs.

Born in London in 1966, Tania Kovats is an award winning artist. She exhibits internationally, publishes regularly, and her work is held in several major collections. Recent solo exhibitions include 'Oceanic' at Parafin, London (2021); 'Head to Mouth' at The Gymnasium Gallery, Berwick (2019); and 'Evaporation' at the Museum of Science & Industry, Manchester (2016). Her work is presented in many major collections and as significant permanent public commissions, including 'The Space of Reading' at the Bodleian Library in Oxford and 'TREE' at the Natural History Museum in London. Her work, 'GRAIN', is permanently installed at County Hall in Trowbridge. Kovats is currently Professor of Teaching and Research at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design; and Professor of Drawing at Bath Spa University.

Places

England, Kent, White Cliffs

Subjects

topography, landscape C20th, bird, cliff

Materials & Techniques

acrylic composite, sculpture (as object name), wall-mounted sculpture, wall-mounted, flocking

Artist

Tania Kovats (1966 - )

Title

Blue Birds II

Date

2000

Medium

Wall-mounted sculpture, acrylic composite and flocking

Dimensions

height: 27.40 cm, width: 100.00 cm, depth: 35.60 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Asprey Jacques, July 2002

Inscription

verso: T.KOVATS.

Provenance

Asprey Jacques, London

GAC number

17719