Martha Sturdy’s contemporary sculptural practice investigates the primal qualities of raw and rugged materials, often combining industrial processes with organic matter to explore properties that are found in nature. Materiality plays an essential role within Sturdy’s work, involving a highly-physical manipulation of rigid and challenging media ranging from resin, brass, steel and aluminum, to salvaged wood from the rural and mountainous Canadian landscape.

For decades, Sturdy’s work has caught the appreciation of collectors, artists, designers, and editorial teams internationally. From the maquette-like wearable sculpture that adorned the models of New York in the 1980s, to her contemporary large-format sculptural practices, she has been featured in American, Italian and French Vogue, Wallpaper*, Harper’s Bazaar España, and Architectural Digest. In 2002 she was presented with a Golden Jubilee Award by the Governor General for her achievements internationally as a Canadian artist and in 2005 she was inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA).

Sturdy received her BFA and formal training in sculpture at the Vancouver School of Art (Emily Carr University of Art + Design), where she later received an Honorary Doctor of Letters in 2006.

“I make what I make, it’s what’s in me. My inspiration comes from many sources. I spend a lot of time in nature which comes through in my practice. There is both a fundamental simplicity and a fundamental monumentality within the natural world that captivates me. My sculpture is also based in positivity, potential, and connection – connection to the environment and to one another.”

Photo credit: Raeff Miles