Charles Westgarth was born in London in 1977 to a family with a heritage in the arts. He had a love of natural beauty and forms from an early age, which eventually inspired his work as a sculptor.

His interest in sculpture emerged early in his school years and he was drawn to traditional skills and fine craftsmanship.

As a student, Charles received a degree in Model Design, which broadened his valuable skills in product and 3-D design and special effects. After briefly working as a modelmaker, he travelled in the Far East, Australia and Europe, returning to the UK in 2002 to open his studio. He began with figurative commissions and exhibited them in galleries.

He produced a series of sculptures, including:

"Dance and Movement", expresses the essence of movement and emotions evoked, with slender and elegant lines of dance and natural forms:

"Evolution", an exploration of life's cycle, reproduction and evolutionary adaptation

Between 2005 and 2007, Charles travelled to Greece and Italy and studied traditional methods and techniques of marble carving on the Greek Island of Tinos with master sculptor Petros Dellatolas.

He subsequently broadened his skills in wax and bronze chasing, polishing, scaling up sculptures and mould making by firstly working in a bronze foundry, with which he had a professional relationship on his own work and then later with three London based foundries.

Following this period, Charles worked with the renowned art fabrication company MDM on significant and monumental sculptures and projects for highly respected artists and clients. As a result, his production skills expanded to include working with a wide variety of materials.

In 2014 Charles moved to Madrid to work with Factum Arte and Factum Foundation, a highly respected company offering art fabrication and heritage preservation. Here he has worked on numerous contemporary artworks, as well as facsimiles of classical art and antiquities. Part of this work has included managing monumental scale sculpture projects in bronze and resins.

Philosophy

“My approach to and inspiration for making sculpture is simple and consistent – I respond directly to the feeling I experience to the subject or work I am making. My sculptures are my own reflection or interpretation of life, be it dance or nature etc. My preferred material for most projects is clay for its spontaneity. For instance, with a life model or portrait the sense of the person, the feeling, the connection, is transferred directly to the material.”

“Emotions including desire, humanity and response to our environment all play a part in the making of a unique piece of art.”

Notable Achievements

  • Exhibitions in UK, Italy, Belgium, Cyprus, Spain and Singapore.

  • FACE 2019 Winner of the ACS prize at the Society of Portrait Sculptors, London.

  • Sculpture commissions for P&O Cruises and Saga Cruises.

  • Sculptures in private collections in the UK, US, Lebanon, Philippines and Laos.

Exhibitions

2022

  • Exhibition of sculpture, Espacio Primavera 9, Madrid, Spain

2019

  • Society of Portrait Sculptors, FACE 2019, La Galleria, Pall Mall, London, UK

2014

  • Affordable Art Fair, Singapore, represented by Degree Art, London, UK

2013

  • Affordable Art Fair, Battersea Park, London

2011

  • Galleria Romanelli, Borgo S Frediano 70, Florence, Italy

  • Sculpture in the Sanctuary, Nottinghamshire, UK

  • Charles Westgarth & Steve Parkes, two-man exhibition A&K Wilson gallery

2010

  • “In Touch”, Sculpture show hosted by Guy Portelli, Dalton House, Kent

  • Edinburgh Art Fair

  • Alan Kluckow Fine Art, Sunningdale, Berkshire

  • Art For Youth, Royal College of Art, Kensington, London

  • Cambridge Art Fair

  • Art For Youth Prevew exhibition, Strutt & Parker, Mayfair, London

  • The Affordable Art Fair, Brussels, Belgium

2009

  • Artspace, The Barn Galleries, Henley-On-Thames

2008

  • ‘Art in Architecture’, The Architects Gallery, Teddington

  • Art For Youth’, The Mall Galleries, The Mall, London

  • ‘Birmingham Art Fair’,

  • ‘Gallery Number 9, Birmingham

  • ‘UK Fine Arts’ Summer Show, Llangollen ,Royal Pavillion, North Wales

  • ‘Gallery 22’, Hale, Cheshire

  • ‘Affordable Art Fair’, Battersea Park, London

2007

  • ‘Limehouse Gallery’, Limehouse, Docklands, London

  • ‘UK Fine Arts’ Summer Show, Llangollen ,Royal Pavillion, North Wales

  • ‘Cambridge Art Fair’

  • ‘Summer Show’ The Hunter Gallery, Long Melford, Suffolk

  • ‘Face 2007’ Society of Portrait Sculptors, Cork Street, London

  • ‘Affordable Art Fair’, Bristol

  • ‘Affordable Art Fair’ Battersea Park, London

  • ‘The Sheritan Hotel’, Picadilly, Mayfair, London

2006

  • ‘Contemporary Art Show’, hosted by Organon (pharmaceuticals), Cambridge

  • ‘Sothebys’, Auction of Racing memorabilia, Olympia, Kensington, London

  • ‘Artefex Gallery’, Birmingham

  • ‘Gallery No.9’, Brindley Place, Birmingham

  • Diatopos Gallery’, Nicosia, Cyprus

  • ‘Gallery K’, Heath Street, Hampstead, London

  • ‘Affordable Art Fair’, Bristol

  • ‘Affordable Art Fair’, Battersea Park, London

2005

  • ‘Mc Neill Gallery’, Watling Street, Radlett

  • ‘A&K Wilson, Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture’, The Gallery, Shepherds Market, Mayfair, London

  • ‘An Exhibition of Contemporary Sculpture’, Sheridan Russell Gallery, Crawford St., London

  • ‘An Exhibition for a Public Commission’, Ware Town Hall, Herts

  • ‘Affordable Art Fair’, Battersea Park, London

2004

  • -‘Bride Hall Charity Garden Sculpture Exhibition, Hertfordshire

  • ‘The Gallery’, High St., Aldeburgh, Suffolk

2003

  • ‘Montpellier Gallery’, Chapel St., Stratford Upon Avon, Warwickshire

  • ‘Catto Gallery’, Heath St., Hampstead, London

2000

  • ‘New Designers 2000’, Business Design Centre, Islington, London