Marc Fish

Innovative material science lies at the heart of Marc Fish’s Mokume-Gane Console, a special collection created for the gallery. 3500-year old Anglien Fens bog oak is combined with the mokume-gane process, a historical metal working technique from 17th Century Japan, mainly used in sword making. Marc spent four years researching and studying this process, finally adapting it to produce a bronze finish that can be applied to curved surfaces. 

The artist meticulously converts bog oak into 0.5mm slices and laminates it back together in its original sequence. He then applies 30 – 40 layers of liquid bronze by hand to the surface, polishing it back each time to reveal traces of the previous layer. The result is a lustrous patina that embellishes the underlying curvilinear wood structure, akin in form to a ribbon suspended mid-loop; weightlessness and negative space, as much as material presence, define the artist’s sculptural language. 

Marc’s work has been exhibited extensively in the UK and USA and is part of prestigious international private collections. He has been awarded four Guild Marks by The Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers UK, and the Claxton Stevens award in 2011 for the best Guild Mark issued in 2010. In 2015, the artist won first prize at Cheltenham Celebration of Craftsmanship and Design, UK.