A Feeling of Lightness

Posted on October 5, 2011

Sculptor Naomi Press, whose training as a dancer has influenced and inspired her, will be exhibiting her work in London this month. Her show A Feeling of Lightness runs at Bermondsey Project Space from October 7–30.

Born in Poland and brought up in what is now Zimbabwe, Press moved to Johannesburg to become a full-time ballet teacher. Many of her early works as a sculptor were inspired by her love of ballet and her understanding of the body in motion.

In her late forties, Press developed a neurological condition that left her “functionally blind”, but continues to work as an artist. Now aged 83 and based in London, she is still experimenting with new materials. She has worked in bronze, steel, brick and in a highly polished, silvered bronze that she calls “liquid silver”. Since 2008, she has used this material to explore beauty and fashion, sometimes drawing on ballet movements.

A Feeling of Lightness runs from October 7–30 at Bermondsey Project Space, Unit 7, 46 Willow Walk, London SE1 5SF. The gallery is open from Monday to Wednesday by appointment, and from Thursday to Sunday from 12 noon until 6pm.

Zoe Anderson

Zoë was born in Edinburgh, and saw her first dance performances at the Festival there. She is the dance critic of The Independent, and has also written for The Independent on Sunday, The Scotsman and Dancing Times. In 2002, she received her doctorate from the University of York for a thesis on “Nationhood and epic romance: Ariosto, Sidney, Spenser”. She is the author of The Royal Ballet: 75 Years and The Ballet Lover’s Companion.