PRESENTATION: Ricky Swallow, Bent Forms #1–#4

Ricky Swallow uses ordinary materials to create precisely rendered objects that he then casts in bronze. The unique works that result are expressions not only of the objects’ constructed forms, but also of the process of transformation by which an inert grouping of things becomes a sculpture. Swallow is invested in equal measure in the making of things and the testing of concepts; in hands-on work with cardboard, tape, and glue and the mediated potentials of the foundry; in the immediacy of craft and the austere elegance of geometric abstraction.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: MCA Archive

Ricky Swallow cultivates a state of contemplative uncertainty through the careful construction of geometries and juxtapositions that seem to press against the limits of visual plausibility. His sculptures function like cryptic glyphs—symbols translated into three dimensions—evoking the enigmatic resonance of ancient scripts while remaining etched in the viewer’s mind with both permanence and poetic ambiguity. In his commission for the Loti Smorgon Sculpture Terrace at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Swallow reimagines the mundane with uncanny elegance. “Bent Forms #1–#4” presents four stainless steel sculptures, each derived from enlarged wax impressions of ordinary teaspoons. Manipulated into sinuous, contorted shapes, the spoons are no longer functional objects but transformed figures, poised like a minimalist tableau or sculptural ensemble. These bent forms reference the spectacle of spoon bending—a performative act often associated with demonstrations of telekinesis, the supposed ability to move objects using only the mind. Swallow taps into this cultural mythos, drawing an evocative parallel between psychic force and artistic creation. Through rigorous studio process and material transmutation, he imbues the familiar with a charged aura of the unfamiliar. As with much of his practice, these works do not merely rest in the visible world; they suggest an invisible current of energy, a sculptural intuition that resists fixed meaning. In Swallow’s hands, the humble spoon becomes a vessel of metaphysical inquiry—a quiet assertion that art, like telekinesis, may alter reality by sheer force of imagination.

Photo: Ricky Swallow, Bent Form 4, Courtesy MCA (Museum of Contemporary Art Australia)

Info: Curator: Pedro de Almeida, MCA (Museum of Contemporary Art Australia), Tallawoladah, Gadigal Country, 140 George Street, The Rocks, Sydney, Australia, Duration: 6/8/2025-20/7/2026, Days & Hours: Mon & Wed-Sun 10:00-17:00, www.mca.com.au/