Events

On Tuesday 9 February at 6.45pm, we welcome sculptor Mark Coreth (O77) for our latest online OA Masterclass.

To register for this event, please complete the form at the bottom of the page. We hope you can join us.

Mark is an animalier sculptor who is represented by the Sladmore Gallery in London (www.sladmore.com). He was brought up in Kenya, East Africa. After Ampleforth College he went on to Sandhurst and served with the Blues and Royals in Germany, Cyprus and the Mounted Regiment between 1978 and 1993 and saw action in Northern Ireland and the Falkland Islands. In his time as a soldier he taught himself to sculpt.

On his return to England he was commissioned to make a silver sculpture of his regiment's drum horse "Belisarius", for the Warrant Officer's Mess and later a second cast in bronze became the Household Cavalry's wedding present to The Duke and Duchess of York; his first commission, a taste of many more to come. He held his first exhibition at the Sladmore whilst still a serving soldier, and has now shown with the gallery for over 20 years.

Mark's method of sculpting is to study and work directly with his subject in the field, be that Africa, India, the Arctic, the Himalayas or elsewhere. This way of working affords him a direct understanding of the subject.

As well as his regular one-man exhibitions at Sladmore Contemporary Mark shows regularly in Paris, and New York. His many monumental commissions include a life-size piece of two Cheetahs in a tree for the ruling family in Dubai, a life-size figure of a boatman which sits outside Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, a shoal of rays in the Docklands and a massive 50 piece fountain at the Natural History Museum. His most spectacular commission to date has been an enormous 16 foot high life-size charging elephant; the subject of a half hour documentary on the Discovery Channel. Where the film-makers followed him on safari while he made his initial studies, back to his studio for the creation process and finally to the foundry to see the final casting of the bronze. The finished bronze elephants currently reside in a public collection in Rome and a private collection in Australia.

Following a visit to the Arctic in 2010 he determined to bring home the fragility of the eco-system through his sculpture. He made an large bronze Polar Bear skeleton and encased it in a giant block of ice which he then carved in front of the public. This " ice bear "was then allowed to melt on site while people touched it, revealing the haunting skeleton inside. This project has been recreated in London’s Trafalgar Square and at climate change conferences in CopenhagenOttawa and other locations to massive public acclaim, a well received and effective message showing the fragility of the threatened Arctic environment. An award winning short film of the ice bear project, narrated by Ewan McGregor

2015 saw him complete his life size bronze of the much loved Race Horse "Frankel", commissioned by the owner Prince Khalid Abdullah. Her Majesty the Queen unveiled the first one at Royal Ascot in June, with further copies at York Race Course and the Newmarket Racing Museum to follow.

In 2016, Mark was commissioned by the St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group to create a sculpture for their garden and clinic in the Muristan in the Old City of Jerusalem. His sculpture, The Tree of Hope, is an olive tree forged in bronze, surrounded by a canopy of swifts. The sculpture sends its message of hope to all points of the compass, encouraging mutual respect between the Abrahamic Faiths and all peoples of the world.