Shell - Limited edition cold cast Iron Oxide Sculpture

Mark’s background as a projects manager, working on a wide range of construction projects across the UK set him up for a lifetime of experiment, investigation and practice. In addition, he spent his spare time teaching himself to carve stone and wood and a year working in an artist’s blacksmith's forge. An eight year period working on off-shore oil rigs followed, where creativity and problem solving were always present in some form or other and he found interest in the most mundane design solutions and beauty in some of the most complex. ‘The spectacle of huge industrial structures and the violence of extreme conditions has probably left brutalist fingerprints on my creative consciousness, but I feel I remain a fairly organic creature at heart’. Over the years Mark has experimented with many different materials including aerated concrete, laminated ply, lead, slate and sandstone. His use of plywood is particularly inventive. ‘Sometimes I’ll have a specific idea that I want to develop which I think would be best executed in a particular medium or I might use material that I happen to have available and which I like the look of. I love the freedom to be able to choose a medium on a whim.’ Living and working in rural Northumberland, Mark’s most recent work has seen him move away from the massive scale of his previous series of carved tree trunk furniture, to smaller pieces. He strives to reproduce the sculpting effects of nature in his work. His belief that ‘the form of a thing is the result of all it endures’, has helped to develop his understanding of the natural qualities of the mediums he uses. Since beginning to exhibit his work two years ago Mark is achieving great critical and commercial success. His exhibitions include the Cotswold Sculpture Association – where his work Ply with Hole was awarded People’s choice in 2022. The Great North Art Show in Rippon Cathedral, 2022 where he was Awarded Best Body of Work by judges from Tennants Fine Art Auctioneers. At The Royal Scottish Academy, Shell was awarded Open Exhibition Prize in June 2023. Marks work can be found in collections in UK, North America, Australia, Italy, Saudi Arabia