Portfolio

Having worked as a sculptor for the majority of his adult life, Hugo Powell made an enormous range of work, from architectural commissions to small assemblages. Here you will find a relatively small selection of his works categorised by medium, with a special section for the series of Phoenixes that were the sculptor’s main focus towards the end of his life. During Powell’s last year, he personally selected most of these works for inclusion on this website, mainly choosing sculpture from the later part of his career.

 

Wood
Works in a wide variety of wood including Yew, Mulberry, Alder, Beech and Walnut. Read more.
Stone
Sculptures in alabaster, Reigate stone, limestone, Bath stone and Carrera marble. Read more.
Bronze
Powell occasionally had works cast in bronze, generally for private commissions. Read more.
Assemblages
A collection of works made using found objects ‘hijacked from their normal usage’. Read more.
Other
Sculptures in other materials. Read more.
Phoenixes
Powell explored the theme of the Phoenix for over 25 years. Read more.

‘Hugo Powell combined an analytical approach to object making with a real feeling for the poetry of form. His abstract wood sculptures are feats of technical virtuosity, developed across four decades of studio practice. Whilst his earlier carvings are elegant, interlocking structures, transferred ingeniously from plan to block, his later works are more complex and fluid, with forms that seem to emerge from but ultimately transform the organic material.’ Sophie Raikes, Curator, Henry Moore Institute