Installation view of Looking Up, Helaine Blumenfeld’s exhibition at Canary Wharf 2020. Photo © Sean Pollock

Helaine Blumenfeld OBE is best known for her large-scale public sculptures whose undulating, ethereal forms evoke a sense of fragility and movement, transforming the environments into which they are placed. In the light of a major exhibition of her works at Canary Wharf, Digital & Art Editor Millie Walton speaks to the artist about working intuitively, the importance of touch and how public art brings people together

LUX: What’s your creative process like? Do you follow a routine, or need a particular atmosphere to create?
Helaine Blumenfeld: I think I have quite an unusual creative process which has changed in a few ways over the years, but essentially, it has always been a process of trying to coordinate what I am feeling and thinking with what I am doing with my hands. That has taken a very long time. Now, when I go into the studio, I am able to disconnect from everything that is going on around me. Francis Bacon used to say that to release that [creative] energy he would either need to be drugged or drunk or both, to allow him to enter into a kind of trance state. I can go into that state, happily, without drugs. For me, it is a state of being. I go into the studio, close the door, and I am there.

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I don’t really look at the work whilst I am making. I take clay and I just keep adding to it or taking away. I have no plan of what I am going to do; I have no drawings. I just communicate with it, and that is how I have worked almost from the very beginning.

I had been working on a doctorate of philosophy, and I could never find the exact words I wanted, but when I made the very first piece in clay, I just thought: ‘This is just incredible! Did I really just do this?’ It was a talent that I had never understood I had, and yet it was so clear. Every piece I made in those early days was a wonder to me and then, we moved back to England from Paris and during the move, some of the pieces got broken. I thought I’ll never be able to do anything like that again.

Now, I do not have that feeling; I see it more as a process. There is a communication between what I am in terms of experience, and the work, and if one piece is interrupted or breaks or collapses, the next piece will follow it.

Helaine Blumenfeld with one of her sculptures. Photo © Sean Pollock

LUX: You mentioned that you were studying philosophy – when did you start making art?
Helaine Blumenfeld: I always had these amazing dreams that I could never seem to translate. The only way that I knew was words, and yet, to have an incredible dream and then to use words is so bizarre because it is a completely different language. For a while, philosophy seemed like the right method for my expression, but I was never satisfied. When I discovered sculpture and began to understand what very simple forms could communicate, I decided I wanted to be a sculptor.

I think that being an artist is not just about having something to communicate, but also finding the right way to communicate it, and if you don’t, you can be frustrated. Discovering sculpture opened up the whole world to me.

Helaine Blumenfeld, Exodus V, 2019, Photo © Henryk Hetflaisz

LUX: Was lockdown a creative time for you?
Helaine Blumenfeld: Well my main studio is in Italy, so I have not been able to go back at all. In fact, because I had this very big show [Looking Up] in Canary Wharf, I was meant to go back before we had finished the installation to bring back two pieces that I had not quite finished, but my husband said not to go. It was lucky that he did because otherwise I would have spent the whole lockdown without my family.

In the end, we managed to get the entire show of 40 pieces up at Canary Wharf just two days before lockdown. The opening, which didn’t happen, was intended to be the day of lockdown. When I went back to Cambridge, I was suddenly aware of the virus and what it was doing, which I hadn’t been, and the first two weeks were very anxious. I thought I would have contracted it because I had been working with so many people, including one of my assistants from Italy who had come over, and whose wife had the virus. But after that period, and I think a few artists will tell you the same, it was one of the happiest periods in my whole life. No pressures from the outside world, no commitments, no engagements, no travelling back and forth to Italy, which I normally would do for two weeks here and two weeks there. I was with my husband all the time which I hadn’t been since the beginning of our marriage. And I had clay; I had all the clay I needed. I was working, and I have done more work in the period of lockdown than I have in the last three years I think. So, yes it has been immensely creative.

Read more: Confined Artists Free Spirits – artists photographed in lockdown by Maryam Eisler

LUX: Do you ever start a sculpture and decide to abandon it if it’s not working?
Helaine Blumenfeld: There are different ways of working. Someone like [Constantin] Brâncuși, who I admire enormously as an artist, was held back by his own sense of perfection. Each piece had to reach what he wanted, and it never did, so he would have to abandon and try again. He was tied to certain ideas, whereas I believe that each piece is as good as it can be. I work through the idea rather than trying to get it right in that particular piece. As I said, I never have a clear idea of where I am going or a vision that I need to achieve; the vision comes in the piece.

Helaine Blumenfeld, Taking Risks, 2018, Photo © Henryk Hetflaisz

LUX: That sounds very liberating.
Helaine Blumenfeld: In sculpture, the gesture can be completely yours. When I am working, I don’t look at what I’m doing I feel it intuitively as it happens. Very often when I am in Italy, I finish something in clay and I cover it and wrap it with wet cloth, and then when I go back, I have no idea what I am going to find. I have never seen it objectively or critically, I have just seen it intuitively. When I do unwrap it, then sometimes I will say  ‘Oh, that doesn’t work’, and I won’t go on with it. At that moment, I am really seeing with a critical eye. It’s like seeing your lover in another way from the corner of your eye or a different angle which allows you to seem them objectively for a moment. When I come back to the work, I am able to see it objectively, and at that moment, I know intellectually whether or not it is working.

It is a bit of a different process if I want to do a large piece, however, because when I am working, I have no armature or inner support system. If I had that I would know exactly what I was going to do because the inner structure would dictate what I was going to make. Without that structure, the sculpture is initially incredibly fragile and if it is going to last, I need to have it cast in plaster quickly. Then, when I know the forms, I don’t feel the same resistance to having an armature. At that point, I have an assistant who will mechanically enlarge the piece for me with a proper armature and leave it in a rough state for me to take over. It does happen when I think a piece is very good, but when the scale changes, it doesn’t work. I think that is a mistake that certain sculptors make, thinking that everything can be large when some pieces work better on a small, intimate scale.

Helaine Blumenfeld, Exodus IV, 2019, Photo © Henryk Hetflaisz

LUX: What role do you think public sculpture can play in urban environments such as Canary Wharf?
Helaine Blumenfeld: I think that sculpture, in general, in a public place, creates a private space for people to enjoy. In a way, it creates a space that people can claim ownership of. My idea is to somehow mediate between the personality and the mechanism of a landscape and to create something that is personal and that people can relate to. For example, my first public commission was in centre of a walkway, and I went around and had a look at how people used space. There was a gigantic sculpture there that people would walk around to avoid. Somehow the massiveness of it mirrored and competed with the architecture in a way. So, I decided to do a sculpture in five pieces, that people could walk in between and interact with that would be on a human scale, and it was such a success.

Helaine Blumenfeld, Fortuna, 2016, Photo © Sean Pollock

My piece Fortuna, which was put up in 2016, was originally meant to go to the new area of Wood Wharf. When it was finished, it was temporarily put into an area in Jubilee Park, and in a very short space of time, that area in the park was overwhelmed with people coming to interact with the sculpture. When word got around that it was going to be moved, people were horrified. That particular area was meant for changing exhibitions, but the piece remains there and people still go to see it.

Read more: American artist Rashid Johnson on searching for autonomy

Also, in that same area, there is a sculpture called Ascent. After lockdown when you could have groups of six, I went back to see the piece and they had made circles on the ground around it so people could sit in those circles and know that they were social distancing. On that lawn there were six different circles of people sitting. They obviously knew each other and they were celebrating something. I had gone there because wanted to photograph the piece. When I arrived, a man looked at us and said ‘Oh, I see that you want to photograph Ascent‘ which was amazing, that he even knew the name. He said ‘Let me show you the best view!’ He took me round to the side and in fact, it was my favourite view. My friend told him that I was the artist and he knew my name too. He announced to the group of people in their circles: ‘This is the artist’. Every person in that area stood up and clapped. It was like it had been an opening. He told me that he came to the sculpture every day and that it was his point of light in the darkness, it gave him some hope that things could be better. It was an amazing experience for me.

Helaine Blumenfeld, Flight, 2019, Photo © Sean Pollock

LUX: Speaking of intimacy, you’ve said before that you like people to touch your sculptures. Why is that important for you?
Helaine Blumenfeld: Oh, I think it is vital for people to touch the work. I think we do not touch enough in our society. So much of our feeling and experience comes from touch. As babies, our world  is all about touch, but we are are losing that. Very early on I had a show with people from LightHouse for the Blind, and all they could do was touch. You would be astounded at what people could feel from touching a sculpture, another level of understanding, from just their hands.

You can see that people are entering into the sculptures where the bases have worn away. I often ask the children who are sitting inside, ‘What are you feeling?’ And they say something like, ‘I am in a secret forest and I am protected from all the things around me.’  It is lovely to see how a sculpture encourages imagination.

Often at public exhibitions, whether it is in a cathedral or in Canary Wharf, I see people discussing with each other, and they don’t know each other. ‘What do you see in it? What are you looking at?’ Not only does art introduce a huge audience to beauty, it is also allows people relate to something outside of themselves, it introduces them to another realm. I think that is an incredible way that art brings people together.

LUX: One final question: what’s inspiring or interesting you at the moment?
Helaine Blumenfeld:  It is hard for me to use the word inspiration; I feel incredibly moved. When an artist dreams a dream that is so deep within his own being, it is not just his dream, it is not just his pain, it is universal. That is what I hoped I was doing before, it was coming from within, but much of what I am doing now is coming from without. I am thinking about how people are trying to connect at this time, to reach out and see the perspective of other people. There is a much greater effort because we are all in this together. It has broken down that sense of isolation which I felt was leading to the precipice. So instead of expressing something deeply personal, I am trying to feel something that effects everyone. I think that is where the new work is going.

‘Looking Up’ by Helaine Blumenfeld runs at One Canada Square until 6 November 2020 and throughout Canary Wharf until 31 May 2020.

For more information visit: helaineblumenfeld.com

The Canary Wharf Estate is now one of London’s most recognisable views

Once an industrial dockyard, Canary Wharf Estate is now home to London’s most famous skyline of angular glass towers, but thanks to the vision of property developer Canary Wharf Group, it’s also a highly desirable residential area with a thriving Arts + Events programme, high-end dining options and plenty of luxury developments underway. LUX speaks to the group’s Managing Director Camille Waxer about creating a lifestyle destination, the importance of public art and her vision for the future

Canary Wharf Group’s MD Camille Waxer

LUX: What’s your vision for Wood Wharf as Canary Wharf’s newest mixed use district?
Camille Waxer: Our new district is designed to provide a residential led, mixed-use, waterside community defined by the quality of its public spaces, the diversity of its activities and its exemplary architecture.

The finished development will have the buzz that currently exists at Canary Wharf complemented by the tranquil setting of waterside living. Boutique shops and neighbourhood restaurants will be part of a thriving community with entertainment and leisure activities within the gardens, parks and squares and along the waterside boardwalks that line to the north and south side of Wood Wharf. As with Canary Wharf, art will be an integral part the community, in addition to a gallery there will art dotted throughout the development. There will also be a primary school, nurseries, GP surgery and play spaces for children.

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LUX: How do you select retailers for Canary Wharf? Have you noticed an increased demand for independent businesses or are high street names still dominant?
Camille Waxer: Initially the vision for the retail and food and beverage provision was to serve the working population but it was clear from very early on that the area wanted more, we started out with 6,000 sq ft of retail space and we now have over 1 million sq ft and Canary Wharf has become a destination. We evolved and we will continue to develop to meet the needs of the many visitors who come here – we regularly survey our visitors in the malls to deliver the shops, cafes, restaurants, services and amenities that people want at Canary Wharf. Our aim has always been to deliver what our customers want; it is a simple yet winning formula. Know your market, both with the retailers and your shoppers and your customers will become advocates for what you do.

The current trend is for independents which we love, there are some really interesting brands coming through but we need high street retailers as well, you need the mix. Our choice of retailers – whether they’re independents or high street names – will continue to increase, with the addition of new brands, particularly in food and leisure, and health and fitness. We recently launched Wharf Kitchen – a street food market where we bought together seven independents together and The Ivy, Polo Ralph Lauren, Peloton and Claudie Pierlot have also opened recently.

A crowd enjoying Nashville Meets London music concert in Canada Square Park, Canary Wharf

LUX: With Arts+Events, retail and dining, Canary Wharf has transformed in feel; it’s now much more than just a business district. How do you create a lifestyle destination?
Camille Waxer: We have 120,000 people working here each day and another 150,000 people visiting daily so it is important to create a place that people like. Our approach from the design of our master plan over 30 years ago through to what you see today and will continue to see in the future is centred on our belief that it is the consideration and integration of every part of this development that makes it the incredible place that it is – everything from the smallest detail to the largest of buildings.

We not only want to create exceptional buildings like our flagship residential building, One Park Drive, designed by Swiss architects Herzog de Meuron, but also an incredible environment for all of our visitors to enjoy. From the outset, public realm has been key to our development. We put our shops underground so we could put parks above them. When you walk around Canary Wharf you’ll will find buildings designed by globally renowned architectural practices surrounded by beautiful and award-winning gardens, parks and squares – all complemented by a culturally inspiring arts and events programme.

Read more: Why you need to see Alberto Giacometti at Guggenheim, Bilbao

LUX: Why it is important for an area to have Arts+Events programmes and what do you think are the most effective ways of building/creating a community feel?
Camille Waxer: From the outset we had a cultural masterplan that included a fully curated programme of day and evening events and activations throughout the week. The culture is the glue that holds Canary Wharf together, without it we would be like every other development.

Our year-round Arts+Events programme delivers over 200 diverse events each year, designed to offer something for all tastes, there is everything from music concerts, comedy nights, family and community shows to food markets, sporting events, dance and theatre – all free to attend. We work with many of the world’s leading art institutions yet crucially we also work with small, local community groups who are part of the fabric of our Estate. The sense of community that you feel when visiting Canary Wharf comes from the people, whilst the developer can create the place it is the people that will make it a community and we recognised this from the very beginning.

Our events are designed to appeal to audiences of all ages, from the local area and beyond and through our events programme, people engage, interact and enjoy their time at Canary Wharf. In January, we have our fantastic Winter Lights Festival which runs for 10 days and has become a must see event in people’s calendars.

Here and above: installations from the 2018 Winter Lights display in Canary Wharf

LUX: Canary Wharf Group has an impressive public art collection which includes work by Henry Moore and light artist Bill Culbert. What purpose do corporate collections serve?
Camille Waxer: Art is in our DNA and has been integrated in to the built environment from the very beginning. We have always been driven to provide a destination that has a positive impact on those who use it – the office occupiers, the local community and visitors to our Estate and for us art plays a huge part in this. Our corporate collection serves the local and wider community, it is accessible, and most importantly located in places where it can be seen and touched. The art that you see throughout the Estate has helped to create a sense of place.

Canary Wharf is now home to one of London’s largest collections of public art with over 70 pieces of art across the Estate, new pieces are added to the permanent collection each year and we also host a temporary exhibition programme that champions emerging and local artists alongside more well-known artists. Our CEO and Chairman Sir George Iacobescu, CBE is the force behind the collection and I feel privileged to work with him on it.

LUX: In 2013 you launched Level39, a tech community offering expert mentors and workspaces. How does this scheme work and where did the idea come from?
Camille Waxer: With London emerging as one of the world’s leading centres of technology innovation – we launched Level39, a community and co-working space for startups and scale-ups situated in the heart of Canary Wharf. It is now home to 200 ambitious companies and has grown to become the leading fintech – financial technology – hub in the world and the largest concentration of cyber security startups in the city.

The community has helped change the Canary Wharf from a predominantly financial services district to a more technology-focused community.

LUX: What’s the greatest challenge in managing a 97 acre site with a service charge budget of over £90m?
Camille Waxer: I can only respond in saying that we have the most amazing team of dedicated people working for Canary Wharf Group. Yes we have challenges yet we are a very well-oiled machine, with a huge amount of expertise and experience.

We are all exceptionally proud of everything we have achieved, there are challenges as with any organisation yet they are dealt with as a team and as a result it is a joy to manage the Estate even with the challenges.

LUX: When Southbank Place completes in 2019 what can we expect to see?
Camille Waxer: Southbank Place has been one of the most talked-about developments in London since it was first announced, and I believe that it will really change the landscape of the local area once complete. The location is so central and such a great cultural hub, I can’t wait for us to be part of the community with merging our own arts and events programme with the surrounding venues.
Some of our shops have already opened Gail’s Bakery, M&S and Boots to name a few. The independents will follow. Southbank Place is just the start of the revitalisation of this area of London.

Read more: Philippe Sereys de Rothschild on fine wine & supporting the arts

LUX: How do you make sustainability a priority whilst trying to meet consumer demands?
Camille Waxer: Sustainability is an integral part of our strategy to shape Canary Wharf as a city of the future. With our new residential developments our Estate is evolving; from a place to work in to a place to live. And we know consumers want a more sustainable planet/environment.

On World Environment Day, June 2018 we launched ‘Breaking the Plastic Habit’, a 12 month programme designed to remove single-use plastics across the Canary Wharf Estate. As part of this programme, we have committed to becoming the world’s first commercial centre to be accredited with ‘Plastic Free Community’ status in partnership with Surfers against Sewage, a national marine conservation and campaigning charity. This is something that we are passionate about with the volume of food operators we have and it is our responsibility to do something about it.

LUX: Can we expect to see changes in consumer buying in the next ten years and will this affect leasing and retail spaces?
Camille Waxer: The retail market continues to be challenging. However, there is still a huge demand for retail stores as consumers continue to want to enjoy retail experiences within physical store environments. The trend at the moment is for independent operators and it is wonderful to see the talent emerging, I sit in many meetings and I think wow that takes guts to give it all up to open up a food stall. A blend / mix of independents and high street is important.

Visitors enjoying Pimms being served for the Wimbledon tennis screening in Cabot Square, Canary Wharf

LUX: What do you consider your biggest achievement to date and why?
Camille Waxer: My biggest achievement is the time that I have spent here. I have been working at Canary Wharf Group for 28 years, I have been part of realising our vision for a master plan that was completely new to London – the creation of a purpose built, district designed to respond to the needs of its users in an area that was unused and suffering from high levels of dilapidation and unemployment following the closure of the docks.

The early days were some of my favourite moments, at the time there were few believers in what we were doing but look at where we are now; we have gone beyond what anyone thought possible, we haven’t simply created a district we have created a destination – Canary Wharf is vibrant and thriving with over 49 million people visiting our malls each year. We have contributed to the regeneration of a large area of our city. It doesn’t get much better than this!

The passion and collective hard work of the team here is very inspiring. This is not a job for me, it is a pleasure.

LUX: When you’re not leading the group’s retail efforts, how do you like to spend your time?
Camille Waxer: My daughter and my husband play golf so I walk the courses with them which is pretty much every weekend and once a year I get my own clubs out but frankly that is probably once too many. I love going to the theatre, art galleries, dabbling in property development and sitting on the dock at my friend’s cottage in the lake area outside of Toronto; just enjoying the moment, it is magic.

Find out more: group.canarywharf.com