Christopher Marvell (b 1964) studied at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne from 1982-1986. He has lived and worked in Cambridge since 1986 and has a studio in Cornwall. Marvell’s work is represented in collections in Europe, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA.
'Walking daily through the landscapes around the studios gives a constant focus for what I am trying to make. My sculptures have a quiet English based quality of man and nature in the way that we hear countryside through Britton or Vaughan Williams.
We have always been conscious of the changeable climate of our sea-washed country, where the air is never quite free from the mist, where the light of the sun is more often pale and pearly than it is fierce. This atmosphere has sunk into our souls. It affects our art as it effects our life. But it has not resulted in congenital softness of vision.
It is the business of observing acutely and recording – of searching for the line and shape and images. You have to make art from what you know about – a celebration of locality. I make many sketches and small plaster maquettes before casting the final scale piece in bronze. Aesthetic stipulations and markings are used to create movement and texture.'
Christopher Marvell