Encompass - USA Bound

Encompass

For over a year now and all through lockdown I have been working on Encompass, a very special commission which is soon to be sent to the USA. The huge bronze sphere is 2.4 metres tall and has been constructed from 27 individual sections. The numerous figures and text within each section are a reflection on the unique story of the client and their close family.

This has been a mammoth task, made even more so by all the additional restrictions that covid has put on work practices. My foundry, Bronze Age have been incredible, working tirelessly to ensure the safety of the staff whilst getting the job done.

The sections have been back and forward over London Bridge from the foundry to the studio many times so that we could complete the numerous stages of the project - here is Encompass being masked up to have its interior gold leaf applied. How gorgeous will this be glinting in the evening sun!

Me poking through the small opening that we kept open to work inside until the very last job was complete - now all closed up, without me in.

Almost there and in a matter of days it will be off across the Atlantic - traveling in style, before we all can!

In Situ - A gallery of smaller works

Excited to share with you images of a number of my smaller works, In Situ shot in two beautiful houses - a gallery to browse through during these lockdown days.

Click here to link through to

In Situ

Embrace

Focused

Higher and Bond

Reliance

RHS Chelsea 2019

RHS Chelsea - The Dubai Majlis Garden by Tom Hoblyn

I was delighted to be asked by Tom to create a piece for his large show garden at RHS Chelsea 2019. His stunning garden - The Dubai Majlis Garden brought together arid loving plants from all over the world into this ‘meeting place,’ reflecting the diverse multiculturalism of the Emirate of Dubai.

Flow was installed and showed at Chelsea 21st-25th May 2019

Congratulations Tom on an amazing Silver Gilt Award for the garden

RHS Wisley opens today

The RHS WIsley sculpture show opens today in Surrey and runs through until 23rd September. I have installed a number of pieces this week including Harmony. The gardens are looking amazing, despite the English drought, and provide a stunning backdrop to my work. Here are some more images of the set up.

Keeps me fit! 

Equlibrium in position.

Beautiful Wisley.

Illuminate is the golden sculpture!

Maybe Illuminate should be gold and not bronze, well that's the way it appears to be going as I just heard that Will William's show garden at RHS Tatton has won gold! This is the second RHS show where the gold- winning show garden has featured my highly polished bronze dish, reflecting it's bronze figure - Illuminate! First gold went to Kate Gould's stunning town garden at RHS Chelsea, and now Will's beautiful summer garden has won.

A big congratulations and a double celebration for Will as he also was awarded Young Designer of The Year by The RHS. 

Will William's show garden at RHS Tatton

Another shot of Illuminate recently installed in this superb folly in Ireland.

Another Golden Chelsea.

It was strange not to showing on my usual stand at RHS Chelsea this year but I was busy setting up for my solo show in Mayfair as all the madness of Chelsea unfurled across town.

It was a great joy to have been asked by Kate Gould, gold medal winning garden designer, if she could incorporate Illuminate in her show garden this year - The New West End Garden - and guess what?  The garden won a fabulous and well deserved gold medal, a big congratulations to Kate and all her amazing team.

Illuminate at RHS Chelsea in Kate Gould's Show Garden.

2018 is looking exciting

For the first time in 14 crazy years, I have made the decision not to exhibit at RHS Chelsea Flower Show. I am delighted, however, that my sculpture will be represented there in the Show Garden of the gold medal winning, garden designer, Kate Gould. I will also have Illuminate presented in Will William's Show Garden at RHS Tatton this year!

I am now concentrating on my third Mayfair Solo Show which will open during the week of Chelsea, at The Clarendon Fine Art Gallery on Dover Street and will run for two weeks from 23rd May to 6th June.

If you aren’t able to make my solo show, perhaps I will see you at some of the other events planned during the rest of the year, here are some diary dates.
                      

Diary Dates

A Step Beyond The Visual - Clarendon Fine Art Gallery, Stow on the Wold. 16 - 22nd April

Art For Cure, Glemham Hall, Suffolk.  5th May - 7th May.

Glemham Hall, Suffolk.

RHS Chelsea Flower Show - Gold medal winner, Kate Gould's Show Garden. 23rd - 26th May.

Solo Show at Clarendon Fine Art, Dover Street, Mayfair.  23rd May- 6th June.

RHS Tatton Flower Show - Young Designer of the Year, Will William's Show Garden. 18th - 22nd July.

Sculpture at Doddington Hall, Lincolnshire.  28th July - 9th September.

Sculpture at Wisley Gardens. 18th August - 23rd September.

Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden, Dorking, Surrey. Easter until October.


My work is also exhibited on an ongoing basis at:
Clarendon Fine Art Galleries - Cobham, Marlow, Stow on the Wold, Richmond, Wimbledon and Kings Road.
High Performance Art Gallery, Terminal Five, Heathrow.

The Surrey Sculpture Society - The Autumn Lecture

I am thrilled to have been asked by The Surrey Sculpture Society to give their Autumn Lecture and contribute to their ‘Understanding Sculpture’ programme, an opportunity for leading sculptors to share their experience, inspiration and skills with the Society’s members and any members of the public who have an interest in sculpture. 

The lecture will be held at Surrey University in the Austin Pearce Lecture Theatre 1 on Wednesday 18th October at 7.30 pm. Tickets: £5 at the door and free to SSS members and students.

‘We are very excited about having such an accomplished and highly respected sculptor as Michael Speller presenting one of our lectures,’ commented Henriette van der Does, Chair of the SSS. ‘The lecture will form part of our ‘Understanding Sculpture’ series of events and this is a great opportunity for anyone interested in sculpture to come and find out how one of our leading sculptors works.’

For tickets and bookings contact: Janet Morton at janetvictoria@icloud.com or call 07946 478046.

Equilibrium

The Surrey Sculpture Society started as a group of just fourteen sculptors living in Surrey 24 years ago – the Surrey Sculpture Society has grown into a major force, now attracting considerable interest from the media and was featured on the BBC Radio 2 Arts Show and on BBC One TV. The SSS now has over 250 members spread across the South East of England and further afield across the UK, encompassing both professionals and talented emerging sculptors.  It aims to promote interaction between sculptors, to organise exhibitions and to encourage an appreciation of sculpture.  The Society stages major events annually in prestigious venues including 2 RHS Gardens - RHS Wisley and RHS Hyde 

For further information about the SSS visit www.surreysculpture.org.uk

Hannah Peschar Garden

I have this month installed Embracing in the stunning Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden, in Dorking, which has just opened for the summer

The Sculpture Garden was the brainchild of owner and curator Hannah Peschar over 30 years ago, and has grown from a handful of sculptures to over 200 pieces exhibited every summer. 

The range of works selected by the curators is wide with styles varying from figurative to highly abstract, innovatively using contemporary metals, wire, glass, ceramics and plastics as well as the more traditional stone, wood and bronze. Each sculpture is placed in a carefully considered and meaningful relationship with the other featured works within the garden, created by co-curator and award-winning landscape designer, Anthony Paul. The result is an inspired combination of peaceful, enclosed harmony and dramatic, surprise vistas in an ever-changing environment.

The Sculpture Garden is open Thursday to Saturday and every Bank Holiday Monday 11.00am - 6.00pm until 29th October.

For more information and the website click here

It's Gold at Chelsea

What a fabulous Chelsea Show, the sun shone endlessly, visitors poured in and the best news of the show has to be Kate Gould winning a Gold medal, for her City Living Garden. Within her stunning, three tier city garden she incorporated Nourish, with a wide polished steel ring which beautifully reflected all her amazing planting.  

Nourish, in Kate Gould's City Living Garden, awarded a Gold Medal and Best in Show for Fresh.

The garden was so deserving of Best in Show for the Fresh Gardens, the competition was pretty tough, so well done to everyone - the week before Chelsea, when we were all building our stands, things were not easy, there was torrential rain, thank goodness it rained then and not for the visitors!

With Kate Gould

Thank you for all your support, it was a great to see so many friends, a great week!