Mark Purllant Artist
A selection of new and old sculptures in various media and sizes
Innovative, emotional descriptions of our existence, with elegance.
‘From the moment I saw your work, I was totally mesmerised. It is the frst time a sculpture takes my soul and goes that far. It is a mix between joy, dancing, and being free, in a time that is full of anxiety.’
‘How was I to know’
Sculpture - 188cm tall (with plinth) x 80cm wide x 35 deep
Carved English Brown Oak sealed with oil. Sculpted forms in oil paint and 23ct gold leaf
“The initial carving appeared to direct me to a sculpture that had a sense of embrace. Two forms intertwining in a fow of emotion. The rich brown oak needed a soul mate…. at the time I was looking at Gustav Klimt and feeling an understanding of his practice of bringing together different genres of arts. Klimt’s painting the Kiss has helped me to fnish this sculpture in the rich way the wood was asking for.”
The emotional connection between the materials and a possible hark to earlier times, with skilful craftsmanship and creativity resulting in a truly unique, elegant piece of art.
Price £35,000
‘Katana’
Sculpture - 85cm tall x 55cm wide x 25cm deep
Carved Bog Oak (4000-8000yrs old) fnished with french polish. Sculpted forms in black Japanning and inlaid Eggshell. Whitened maple veneer and hand rolled, ground and polished Stainless Steel.
“I am drawn to the Japanese culture, party through my love of Judo and partly an underlying ‘felt’ affinity. The initial carving of the dark fractured Bog Oak gave me a sense of controlled movement, that I need to see in my Judoka. I was frst made aware of the ancient art of Japanning with eggshell 35 years ago when in New Zealand! It is a process I have wanted to use for a long time and after some practise, this piece felt right. The addition of the very time consuming sculpted stainless steel adds a fnesse of strength’
Katana exudes the unity of ancient craftsmanship, materials and philosophies with a modern and innovative approach.
Price £12,500
‘Pod’
Sculpture - 95cm tall x 70cm wide x 60 deep
Carved English Brown Oak sealed with oil, with rust treated steel and manipulated hand blown glass. Hand beaten copper sealed with details in sea green/blue fock.
“It has long been a dream to blow glass. With friend a collaborator master glass blower David Flower, we set about creating some unique sculptural pieces to become connected with my own work. Once having the blown vessels I started to consider their place within my process and materials, and how they could share a space with. It was not easy to fnd the balance, but suddenly it came.”
The connections within this piece strongly impact on each other through both tensions and harmony. They highlight the collaboration through an incisive (perhaps contemporary ), narrative for the viewer to explore.
Price £9500
‘Sequoia’
Sculpture - 52cm tall x 52cm wide x 34 deep
Carved and scorched Hornbeam, with manipulated hand blown glass. Sculpted forms fnished with water, sumie ink and blown burnt hornbeam dust, sealed.
“The glass came frst after a day with collaborator and friend David Flower. This glass was perhaps the most instantly aesthetically pleasing piece we made. I found myself relating it to an overheard conversation between a 8/9 yr old boy and his father at an exhibition of large expressionists paintings. He said very confdently that the exhibition was about climate change as there were trees on fre. He was right, but I couldn’t help feel concerned about how he said it. It was almost like a conditioned response. It made me think about how as a child, farmers would set their felds a light, how in certain parts of the world controlled fres are necessary and how some plants need fre to germinate, like the Sequoia trees, which are ironically endangered. Of course climate change is affecting the world, but so perhaps is a conditioned unbalanced education?”
At the heart of everything there is the need to adapt, evolve and live.
Price £7500
‘Conditioned’
Sculpture - 87cm tall x 56cm wide x 46cm deep
Carved and steamed Mulberry sealed with sculpted forms in Oil Paint on a burnt Oak base.
“I have had the idea of mixing the elements of this sculpture in my head for many many years. It came to fruition after making Sequoia for exactly the same story and reasons. It therefore considers how we are conditioned to think and believe, sometimes without questioning and how now it’s difficult to know what is actually right. A recent conversation with a viewer of this piece, explained that as a therapist he found a deep sinuous connection to it in the same way when a client releases their thoughts.”
Through rejuvenation there is potential structure within the chaos.
Price £9500
‘Bird
of Paradise’
Sculpture - 105cm tall x 55cm wide x 25 deep
Carved and steamed English Oak fnished with soap. Sculpted forms in oil paint and rolled polished copper on a plaster base.
“As with many of my pieces the carved and steam bent Oak came frst. The forms gave me a feeling of freedom of expression. Nature always has a potential informed resonance within my work, this work naturally went this way. I don’t ever set out to make something specifc, but if the forms, feeling take me a certain way I will go with it to see where it takes me, I like to open doors to see what’s behind them…”
There is something about the ambiguity of the once alive, carved and steamed wood giving way to fourishes of apparent life and hope, that simply makes you feel good, and anything is possible!
Price £12,500
‘Sumie Sculpture 5’
Sculpture - 77cm tall x 40cm wide x 36 deep
Carved Elm, one part dark stained, one part black lacquered and one part black Japanning with inlaid Eggshell.
“The process included some steaming of the Elm to pull apart the carvings, but it wasn’t until I had developed the Japanning and Eggshell that I came to the fnished conclusion. I have always been intrigued by the use of ‘three’, and have used it extensively. Here that is rather more subtle in its approach.”
There is clear connection to the kanji brush strokes of Japanese artists, the differing elements causing tension and harmony through energy and serenity.
Price £7500
‘Candy’
Sculpture - 988cm tall x 56cm wide x 46 deep
Carved English Oak, one part stained and one part covered in long green fock. Sculpted forms in oil paint.
“This sculptures form was delightful from the start, but I had an urge to disrupt it and play with the forms through their surface. The dark contrast of the stained hard oak and that of its fellow fock covered partner which begs to be touched. The rich colours seem to make this feel like some sort of sweet cocktail to tingle the tastebuds, but is that merely a lure of temptation!”
The spacial fow and energy is matched by the bizarre surface details and leave you wondering!
Price £11,500
‘Freedom’
Sculpture - 120cm tall x 130cm wide x 70 deep
Carved and steam bent English Oak, sealed and waxed, with sculpted form in Oil Paint. Maple veneer, ebony and brass details on a scorched oak base
“This sculpture was one that fought! By that I mean it took a while to bring it together, constantly changing and trying ideas. When it did come together it was a moment when it simply wanted to fy off the bench!”
‘Freedom’ won the London Biennale Sculpture award and the BADA Art Prize in 2023 held at David Messums Fine Art. The judges for the BADA award were looking for the antiques of the future and included Anish Kapoor, Philip Jackson, Alain Dominique Perrin and Jools Holland.
Price £25,000
‘Oil
Painting in Sculpture 11.1’
Sculpture - 61cm tall x 110cm wide x 30 deep
Carved English Oak sealed with sculpted forms in Oil Paint
“This was one of two created for a commission. I don’t do many commissions because of my process, but when I do I always fnish two sculptures so the client has a choice. In this instance the client chose the sister to this piece. These two were the frst time I mixed materials in this way. It has become one of my signature pieces and earned me a number of recognitions including being listed as one of ten sculptors for the Aesthetic Art Prize Futures 125 - ones to watch”
There is an aesthetic appeal that gives a complete sense of harmony and wonder at how this has been created.
Price £12,500
Small Sculptures A,B,C,D
A - Mixed Media Sculpture 3.3 - 45x45x30cm - Carved Mulberry with sculpted forms in Pearlescent Tourmaline with hues of Pink and Green, with stained maple veneer on a recycled marble base - £2200
B - Mixed Media Sculpture 3.2 - 50x20x20cm - Carved Oak with sculpted forms in Pearlescent Tourmaline with hues of Pink and Green, on a recycled marble base - £1800
C - Mixed Media Sculpture 3.5 - 45x20x20cm - Carved Spalted Crab Apple with sculpted forms in Pearlescent Tourmaline with hues of Pink and Green, on a recycled marble base£1800
D - Mixed Media Sculpture 3.4 - 45x40x30cm - Carved Mulberry with sculpted forms in Pearlescent Tourmaline with hues of Pink and Green, with rolled polished brass on a recycled marble base - £2200
Small Sculptures E,F,G,H
E - Mixed Media 41 - 38x30x14cm - Carved Mulberry, sealed with soap, with sculpted forms in Oil Paint, polished stainless steel on a metal base - £850
F - Mixed Media Eggshell 1.1 - 33x22x18cm - Carved Hornbeam and Holly, with black Japanning and Eggshell - £950
G - Mixed Media Eggshell 2.1 - 26x26x12cm - Carved Hornbeam with black Japanning and Eggshell, sculpted forms in Oil Paint and polished stainless steel - £550
H - Mixed Media Eggshell 3.1 - 27x19x10cm - Bog Oak with black Japanning and Eggshell, polished stainless steel and sculpted forms in Oil Paint - £725
Statement/Bio
‘Mark’s work is like 3d paintings carved out of the air.’
Mark is a visual artist, working in a variety of materials both sculpturally and two dimensionally. His work connects to the balance he sees, in life, societies, nature or the philosophical. He is drawn to how through chaos, contrasts and extremes highlight our perceptions and reactions. How tensions, harmony, tranquility and energy jostle to strengthen the fragility of the worlds balance.
Marks practice has developed through creativity, innovation and knowledge, into a fne crafted conceptual abstraction. The process is intuitive and reactionary, throughout there are references of the human form and its movement. He talks of the need of fundamental skills, along side an incessant want to question, echoing his judo coaching philosophies.
There is an immediate beauty but delve deeper and there are questioning narratives on our lives today, evoking comments like; ‘it is so soothing and exciting at the same time’, and ‘from the moment I saw your work, I was totally mesmerised. It is the frst time a sculpture takes my soul and goes that far. It is a mix between joy, dancing, and being free, in a time that is full of anxiety.’
Through connecting different materials he expresses the complications of todays world, but always with a graceful aesthetic that oozes hope with a smile. Recently he has become more aware of how his work not only expresses a human condition but also the void/space around us, and how the unseen has always been vital to his work.
Mark’s uniquely creative approach has gained him a worldwide following of collectors. In 2023 Purllant was awarded the Sculpture Prize at the prestigious London Biennale. An event that saw over a hundred artists from 80 countries take part. Later that year he also won the BADA Art Prize which was judged by world renowned sculptor Anish Kapoor CBE along with sculptor Philip Jackson and Founder and President of the Cartier Foundation Alain Dominique Perrin, and musician and collector Jools Holland. This success followed being listed as part of the Aesthetic Art Prize Futures 125, which he has since also achieved in 2024.
Awards
2024 - Aesthetica Art Prize Futures 125 listed
2023 - Bada Art Prize
2023 - London Biennale Sculpture Award
2022 - Aesthetica Art Prize Futures 125 listed
2018 - Vice Chancellors Award - NUA
Sales too
UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Italy, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, South Africa, Saudi Arabia
Public Collections
Norwich University of the Arts
Norwich City Council
Norwich Castle
Contact
studio@markpurllant.com - 07544739281 - www.markpurllant.com - @purllantmark