Max Jacquard

In October I created a new patchwork for the ‘In and Out’ exhibition organized jointly by Brewery Arts in Cirencester and The Quenington Sculpture Trust in the grounds of the Old Rectory in Quenington, Gloucestershire. Lucy Able Smith exhibits sculpture in her wonderful garden every other year in the Fresh Air exhibition. This year she wanted to have a show purely devoted to glass. It was a great success with over 1500 visitors over the four weeks of October .I had many compliments for my Patchwork Blanket which hung amongst the Fruit trees.

The patchwork was constructed purely from recycled bottles, this time using the natural curvature of the bottle to create a the rippling effect of hanging fabric. I also etched some fabric textures onto the bottles prior to cutting them up so the effect is a soft diffusion of the  light in a rich collage of patterns. The form is a reference to the patchwork coverlets lovingly made for children’s beds by Grandmothers or Aunties. Putting the piece together involved well over 1,500 stitches and lots of hard work but this seemed to me appropriate to the subject. It has something to do with giving a new life to materials that would otherwise be discarded. The project made a welcome change from using expensive glass and investment materials combined with the consumption of electricity that goes with my usual kiln formed work. There will be more patchworks of different sizes in future exhibitions.

The Patchwork can be seen as part of the Flow exhibition organized by Liquid Glass

at The Black Swan Arts Centre, Frome from the 15th Nov to 24th Dec, go to www.blackswan.org.uk for further info

For the ‘Untold Stories’ Solo show at Zest Gallery in May I created a new series of pieces in cast crystal using the female figure as inspiration. Here the sections of the body that were cast from life are rendered almost abstract. Being tightly framed within a block that allows us to see beneath the surface where life is growing. In this way the piece makes a strong connection between man and the landscape or if you like nature in man.
Since the exhibition one piece has sold at SOFA New York and one has been commissioned. I have also had two of the landscapes accepted for the 2008 Biennale so they will make an appearance at Stourbridge this summer.

On September 31st I boarded the ferry to Ostend with Albion in a coffin on the roof of my car and the two scarecrows boxed up in the boot. You can imagine the looks I got from the customs officers. There was a lot of explaining to do!

After a long drive across Belgium and most of Holland I arrived in the quaint Village of Tubbergen where once a year the entire population and that of the surrounding towns goes crazy about glass for a whole week. Glasrijk means Glass Rich in Dutch and there certainly was glass everywhere, even in the local hairdressers.

My pieces were installed in a small triangular wood in between the Swimming pool, the Eetcafe Fox and the Old People’s home. There was a constant coming and going of people even at night. I had set up my three figures with focussed outdoor spots so it gave a very theatrical air to the group after dark. There were a number of other great pieces including an installation by Belgian artist Inge Goosens filling a small tree with cast glass light bulbs that looked wonderful at night with my prodigal Scarecrow pointing the way !

Also late on the last day the evening sun came through the trees to reveal the colours and patchwork patterns to spectacular effect.

Glasrijk Tubbergen was a unique event - a real mixture of quality and types of work including some extraordinary installations in containers. It ran from the 3rd to the 7th Oct more info can be found at www.glasrijk.nl

In June 2007 I participated in the 4th Sculpture Biennale Kijkduin. Entitled ‘Reflections by the Sea’ the event used the seafront setting of the Southern Coastal resort of Kijkduin near The Hague. After two successful years of presenting outdoor sculpture this year the theme was concerned with light. Curated by Angela Van Der Burght the beachfront Plaza featured a fascinating collection of installations in glass and mixed media.

My piece was to be housed under the lighthouse or what translates as ‘Fire Tower” in Dutch.

The space beneath the tower was transformed utilizing turfs of beachgrass and spotlighting. The figure represented something of a fertility symbol as it confronted the concrete plaza with an ‘oasis of green’

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Opened by Queen Beatrix of Holland on the 31st June the exhibition continued throughout July and attracted many thousands of visitors.

I met some lovely people at the show including the British artist David Pratt. His background is in drawing but for the Sculpture Biennal he presented a flying greenhouse covered in the most beautiful engravings. a really unique and special piece it can be seen at Goodwood Sculpture Park or by googling The Cass Foundation.

For more information about Kijkduin go to www.kijkduin.net

For more info on the European scene see Angela Van Der Burght’s new magazine F….

Created for the open air Exhibition ‘Fresh Air 2005′ in the idyllic Gardens of Quenington Old Rectory in Gloucestershire. These figures created quite a stir amongst the Flower Beds.

Created in a patchwork of glass sewn together with bronze wire , each scarecrow consisted simply of one long sleeved garment like a tunic or oversized shirt. The folds of the drapery were captured in glass as if frozen in motion.

One scarecrow wears a patchwork of many colours and came to be known as the ‘Prodigal’ for obvious reasons. I think of him as being something like a pilgrim going out into the wilderness.

The other figure has a white garment slashed with diagonal lines. This character is at once pure and yet obviously repaired. he reminds me of a martyred saint.

Botyh scarecrows were featured in the Fresh Ais Art show at Quenington Old Rectory in 2005 and Prodigal was shown in the Glass sellers prize winners show at The Glass Art Gallery in 2006. They will be revamped and on show again in  October 2007 in ‘Glow In The Dark  at Grassrijk Tubbergen.

For more details visit www.glassrijk.nl

It has been some time since we produced a new hanging figure at the Workshop. The green patch-worked Albion Figure has been shown in several exhibitions both indoors and out and has been well received. Last year I was asked by a private client if I would be willing to adapt the patchwork theme in clear glass similar to the figure in The V&A. I thought about it long and hard and eventually decided that, yes, it would be a good thing to do.

I consulted closely with my client who has a good eye and produced a sample of the head section with a more rounded top, and silver links between the panels, just on the corners. We found that it still gave the impression of a kind of armor but with a much lighter feel. In fact there is something of the crusader about this figure, he seems definitely more optimistic and prepared for something…

The photos show the piece as a mould , nearing completion and featuring the internal wiring system that helps distribute the load from the shoulders evenly throughout the whole body.

From time to time the studio is asked to design and manufacture a trophy or prestigious award. We are able to do this because the numbers required (between ten and thirty) suit our manufacturing techniques so our clients can see them as a special edition. Probably our best known creation is the MOBO Award for excellence in Black music (or more specifically Music of Black Origin) which we have been making for the past six years.

Last year we were asked by Bisnode Ltd to create a trophy for their Elite MD Award. They wanted something simple that would reflect the aspirational nature of their winners and would look great in a trophy cabinet or on a display shelf.

Max created this design using a lump of rock sliced back at the base into rectangle. The cast glass version is brilliant polished at the base to reveal the internal veiling, at the same time leaving the craggy rocklike quality at the top. Many of the winners of this award are young bankers from Germany ,Czech Republic and central Europe, I like to think that some of them are mountain climbers in their spare time!