Mark Reed (born 23 March 1971) is a British sculptor based in

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Reed works primarily in metals, using bronze,

mild steel Carbon steel is a steel with carbon content from about 0.05 up to 2.1 percent by weight. The definition of carbon steel from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) states: * no minimum content is specified or required for chromium, cobalt ...

, stainless steel and aluminium. According to Reed, his themes include "nature and his place within it, science, the environment, family and the passage of time."

Biography

Born in Colchester, Reed spent his early years in Suffolk, relocating with his family to a fruit farm in rural

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

in his teens. The trees in the orchards he once pruned and shaped were inspiration for much of Reed's sculpture and furniture. Reed initially designed nature-inspired furniture, casting all of his bronze sculptures himself in studio. Reed is known for his tree sculptures in forged steel, the individual branches heated in the forge and then tapered on the anvil, giving the appearance of a "fluid shape of the tree beginning to 'grow'".

Public works

In 2004 Reed worked on his first public commission ''Bronze and Cast Iron Tree Planters'' for

The Prince's Trust The King's Trust (formerly the Prince's Trust) is a United Kingdom-based charity founded in 1976 by Charles III, King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) to help vulnerable young people get their lives on track. It supports 11-to-30-year-olds w ...

and the City of London, unveiled by the Lord Mayor of the City. Reed has created public works in the UK, spurred by his "concerns about climate change" which prompted his 10 meter ''Wave'' installation (2021) and the sale of many of the 3,000 fish raised thousands of pounds for Norwich Cathedral Charities. Reed's ''Tree of Life'' sculpture (2022), with over 2,000

patinated Patina ( or ) is a thin layer that variously forms on the surface of copper, brass, bronze, and similar metals and metal alloys (tarnish produced by oxidation or other chemical processes), or certain stones and wooden furniture (sheen produc ...

stainless steel engravable leaves, raises funds for Kings Lynn Hospital's League of Friends. In 2023, ''The Serving Ace Meeting Tree'', a 3.658 meter bronze sculpture commissioned from Reed by the

All England Club The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC), also known as the All England Club, based at Church Road, Wimbledon, London, England, is a private members' club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, the only Gr ...

, was installed on the grounds of

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

. Reed's sculptures reflect his interest in the workings of natural structures and the way they contribute to the artistic view of a plant or animal.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Mark 1971 births Living people English sculptors English male sculptors 20th-century British sculptors 21st-century British sculptors 21st-century British male artists Artists from Colchester People from Swaffham British contemporary artists