A Mighty Blow for Freedom by Michael Sandle

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Michael Sandle's early years were marked by a strong emphasis on craftsmanship and the search for symbols, a rejection of the formalism that dominated sculpture during his time. At Douglas School of Art and Technology on the Isle of Man from 1951 to 1954, he honed his skills before moving on to the Slade School of Fine Art in London from 1956 to 1959. During the 1960s and '70s, Sandle focused on a limited range of projects that explored both abstract and figurative styles. As professor of sculpture at Pforzheim, Germany starting in 1973, and later at Karlsruhe, Germany in 1980, Sandle's work began to take on a more monumental scale. This shift was largely due to the influence of significant commemorative commissions he received during this period. His art serves as a commentary on what Sandle terms "the heroic decadence" of capitalism, particularly its insatiable appetite for global conflict.