Steven Claydon's ‘The Correspondence of Hubris (Compound)’ characterizes the artist's reinvention of the Classical bust, transforming the visage of Bismarck. The figure's eyes are deeply pocketed and shadowed, giving the bust a lifelike, menacing look which challenges the viewer as the disembodied head stares out atop his canvas wrapped plinth. Sculpting Roosevelt’s distinct facial features with clay, combining various highlights of white, green, or gray throughout the surface, and surrounding his head with a geometric metal frame, the artist adds components of multidimensional elements to further his engaging work.

Contemporary British artist Steven Claydon (b. 1969) is known for his sculptures which combine the past with the present in ways that query unknown, forgotten, or re-imagined history. Blending aspects of various time periods together into his innovative works, salvageable objects are given antique patinas to hint at antique origins, derelict machinery relates to an industrial past, and figurative busts reveal a long art historical tradition of revived Classical portraiture. Giving his works a sense of the monumental, his methods of display are as integral to the sculptures as the works themselves. The artist received his BA from Chelsea School of Art & Design and his MA from Central Saint Martin’s School of Art & Design, both in London. Claydon has exhibited at numerous venues internationally including White Columns (New York, NY), Tate Britain (London, UK), David Kordansky Gallery (Los Angeles, CA), and Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle (Munich, Germany), among others.