Beatrice Hoffman

Beatrice Hoffman is a well-known local sculptor who has had exhibitions of her work all over the country. She grew up in Munich, Germany, and arrived in this country more than 30 years ago. Beatrice attended an Art Foundation course in Lowestoft, followed by a sculpture degree at the Norwich School of Art where she created many of her early carved wooden and stone figures.
Her artistic desire was initially inspired by the African sculptures owned by her grandparents and her great aunt Lucie Rie who was a well-known potter. After a postgraduate degree in art therapy, she has divided her time between sculpting, sculpture teaching and working as an art therapist in special schools.
Since arriving in Oxfordshire in 2014, Hoffman has spent much time reworking old sculptures and creating new versions after a devastating fire in her old studio had destroyed all her sculpture moulds. She models her sculptures directly in clay, solid or coiled; or for the larger scale pieces, a steel armature is manufactured, covered with chicken wire, foam pieces and expandable foam, onto which the clay is applied. Such works are then cast into bronze or bronze resin. Wood and stone carving is also evident within her portfolio.
Beatrice is deeply involved with the process of making and wants to achieve simplicity and abstraction, to add intensity and clarity to her creations. Some of her ideas for figurative sculptures derive from her other career as an arts educator and therapist, which makes her aware of the psychological and expressive potential of sculptures.
She aims to engage the viewer and for them to experience empathy, solace, and understanding and derive some healing, internal balance, and peace of mind. This is what makes her sculptures so perfectly suited for being lived and interacted with daily, in the house or in the garden.