Michael Sandle RA (b.1936) is a British sculptor and artist, and is considered as one of the most eminent sculptors of the 20th century. His works include several public sculptures, many relating to themes of war, death or destruction. The artist conveys a criticality in his work which is reflective of what he describes as the “heroic decadence” of capitalism and global imperialism. In his early work he rejected the formalism predominant in sculptural practices in the 1950’s, and explored abstract and figurative idioms in the 60’s and 70’s. Sandle’s art developed into a monumental style during the late 70’s and 80’s, when he was given academic appointments in Germany.
Sandle studied at the Douglas School of Art and Technology, Isle of Man, and the Slade School of Fine Art in London. He has exhibited at the 5th Paris Biennale, the Sao Paulo Biennial, and the 4th and 6th Documenta in Kassel. Examples of his works are held by the Tate Gallery in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Australian National Gallery in Canberra, the Hakone Museum in Japan, and the British Museum. A major retrospective of his work was held at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in 1988 and then at the WurttembergischerKunstverein in Stuttgart in 1989.Between 1989 and 1993, Sandle produced the Malta Siege Memorial in Valletta, for which he was awarded the Henry Hering Memorial Medal by the US National Sculpture Society. The Malta Siege Memorial includes a thirteen-tonne bronze bell, called the "Santa Maria", one of the largest ever forged, which rings for two minutes every midday.
The artist has been the recipient of many internationally acclaimed awards. Namely; the Rodin Grand Prize, NobutakaShikanai Prize, Japan’s most prestigious art award, and the DAAD research prize, amongst others.
He was elected as a member of the Royal Academy in 1989, and as Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1994.