John Maine RA

b.1942

John Maine was born in Bristol in 1942. He studied at the West of England College of Art in 1964, the Royal College of Art in 1967, followed by Fellowships at Gloucestershire College of Art and Yorkshire Sculpture Park. His first solo exhibition was hosted by the Serpentine Gallery in 1972, and he has exhibited regularly in Britain ever since. He has received numerous awards and was elected a Royal Academician in 1995.

Maine’s sculpture is influenced by landscape, land forms, ancient sites, organic structures and mathematical systems, surface planes and sections through forms. Stone, particularly Portland stone from Dorset where he lives, is his preferred medium, although he often works with other sculptural mediums.

Talking of his experience working in silver for Sterling Stuff II  Maine says:

Sterling Silver is often associated with fine objects and high finishes, but it interested me to try to return to the idea of the precious metal as an ore from the earth. Combining raw nature with a sophisticated geometric form was a challenging starting point. The work which emerged from the cast has a visual weight not normally associated with silver. Much of my work is carved in stone, but the opportunity to explore casting led me to push the process beyond direct reproduction of an existing form. In this small piece the original work takes on a new life.