‘The hand is integral to the different manifestations of human intelligence’— Juhani Pallasmaa, ‘The thinking hand’ 2009

I have spent my life making things. As a child, river clay from the banks of the Ouse at my home near York allowed the Roman soldiers, animals and monsters of my imaginings to find form. Inspiration abounds in York, an ancient city with a large population of statues, figures and grotesques to fascinate and delight.

So it was a natural decision for me at 16 to head to the city’s Art School; there I learned that creativity comes in many forms, and that one should remain true to one’s instincts.

I have since pursued my own work, helped others with theirs (as a sculpture tutor and as a commercial sculptor working for more established artists) and worked with museums, companies and corporations as a maker and in design. So have I informed and funded my art practice.

I believe the imprint of touch, and the human actions recorded in an object are important. Objects we encounter in the world are experienced through our physical being - we estimate, measure and reveal the world to ourself as a reflection of the body we possess.

And for me, sculpture is a particular discipline; it is a story told in form, mass and surface. It exists in space, sharing the world with every other thing, like a human being

Richard Mackness CV 2024