The Elements of Sculpture: Plaster Casting with William Braithwaite

William is one of the UK’s most acclaimed young sculptors. He uses concrete, stone and plaster to create bold, confident sculptures, that are inspired by different forms of architecture. Since graduating from the Glasgow School of Art he has had a prolific career, winning the Royal Society of Sculptors Gilbert Bayes award; the Royal Scottish Academy’s Richard Coley Award for Sculpture; and the Aesthetica Art Prize – as well as being part of numerous UK collections both public and private.

The Egyptians first pioneered the plaster casting method, it was subsequently adopted by the Greeks and Romans, who used it to reproduce copies of important artworks. During the Renaissance, Baroque and Neo-Classicism periods casts enabled artists to study human anatomy and to learn “the idea of beauty”. This idealised standard continued into the Victorian era, eventually superseded in the 20^th and 21^st centuries by artists who adopted plaster casting for its creative potential, helping them to explore new ideas and create innovative sculptural forms.