Stephen Cox: Adam and Eve
Title: Adam and Eve
Artist: Stephen Cox (b. 1946, British)
Location: St Luke’s Church (C of E)
Date: 1997
‘Following an anonymous donation, sculptor Stephen Cox was commissioned to provide two sculptures for the empty niches in the reredos. The urn-like figures of Adam and Eve, bowing their heads in shame for their disobedience to God, are symbols of the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, the male and the female. They are about the creation, and mankind's continual striving to become holy and redeemed. Using the idea of man as a vessel, these two sculptures link aesthetically with the stone of the altar and the pulpit and provide many theological and historical resonances ... The figure of Eve is made of Hammamat Breccia, taken from the oldest stone quarry in the world ... Adam is fashioned from Imperial Porphyry, the world's hardest stone.’ (A Guide to St Luke’s Church Chelsea, Clare Johnston)
Stephen Cox is known for pieces that have great symbolism rooted in history, tradition and faith. Cox’s study in historically important stone-carving centres has become central in informing the subject, material and style of the work he creates. He has exhibited internationally as well as having had solo shows at the Tate Gallery and the Dulwich Gallery. His work is included in the permanent collections of the Tate Gallery, the British Museum, the Ludwig Collection (Cologne) and the Uffizi (Florence).
Further Information
Medium: Stone
Permanent display
See Stephen Cox’s ‘Adam and Eve’ on the Ecclesiart map here.
Commissioner: The Rector and PCC of St Luke’s Chelsea
Other artworks in churches by Stephen Cox: Altar and reredos, St Paul Harringay; St Anselm’s Altar, Canterbury Cathedral; Eucharist, Cathedral of St Nicholas, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.