(01)
Increasingly, I have come to realise that my work is not really about animals or birds or horses. They are my vocabulary.
(02)
The subjects seem to be about states of being:
stillness, attentiveness, contemplation,
companionship, solitude, vulnerability.
About
Jonathan Knight (born London 1954) has been a professional sculptor since his mid-twenties.
Inspired by his love of riding, and underpinned by study of anatomy and observation, the Horse became a major part of his practice in his first professional years, culminating in prestigious commissions to sculpt life size horses, realised in bronze, for Cheltenham Park Racecourse, Cheveley Park Stud, Newmarket and Penang Turf Club, Malaysia.
A turning point occurred in the early nineties.
In his own words he describes it thus:
I was already feeling some frustrations and turning towards animals and birds as a source of subject matter, when I first came across the work of Francois Pompon (the early 20th century modernist animalier sculptor). To say that seeing his sculptures, at the time only in a book, had a profound effect on me is an understatement. They took my breath away. Looking back, I realise that what I was recognising instinctively was the possibility, the chance, that sculpture could communicate something beyond description.
Energised by this discovery, Knight’s practice evolved. So-called wildlife subjects were explored for the potentialities of their form and mass, and a language developed where appearance became the gateway to something beyond appearance.
In the last few years, the pull towards increased distillation has become more urgent. Recent work realised in bronzes such as Rhino (2025) and Hippopotamus (2025) demonstrate sculpture in which unnecessary detail is stripped away until the sculpture exists on a threshold between representation and abstraction. These most recent sculptures invite recognition without insisting on it, and ambiguity becomes part of the experience.
In this space, the animal becomes more than a subject. It carries states of being – stillness, anticipation, expectation, hiatus – without a “back story”. These states of being, held in bronze, arise spontaneously and instinctively through the honest pursuit of form.
Selected reviews
“Knight has undergone his own personal metamorphosis; from the classical style of his early equine work to the present reductive works of polished surfaces and elegant forms. The former, however, informs the latter. There remains a love of line, and a feeling for the beauty of the antique and the classical, and there is always the implication that detail is merely concealed behind a carefully refined surface.”
“Knight’s representations of these animals transcend the banal. They are individual studies of marvellous stillness.
Many of his clients speak of the purity of shape and the simplicity of form which allows us to connect directly with his sculptures as those tactile lines draw us in.”
Testimonial
More than 30 years ago, Cheveley Park Stud made the decision to commission a life-size statue of Music Boy. I decided not to be influenced by price or well-known names, but to select our sculptor from their portfolio. I had no hesitation in choosing Jonathan; I found his work traditional yet modern, and full of his love for the subject.
Since then we have commissioned life-size sculptures of Russian Rhythm and Pivotal, which are equally as magnificent as Music Boy. I also have quite a collection of Jonathan’s smaller animal sculptures.
I am very fond of my sculptures and they give me pleasure on a daily basis.”
Collections
Works are held in the collection of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and in private collections throughout the United Kingdom, Europe, North America, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Public commissions include Cheveley Park Stud, Cheltenham Racecourse, and Penang Turf Club.
