User:Colin Spofforth/sandbox

Colin Spofforth (sculptor)
Colin Spofforth was born in Liverpool in 1963. His large scale public sculptures feature both in the UK and Europe. His work is particularly known for its conceptual and dramatic approach.

Major works include:
 * The Runner - A 6m (18ft) bronze sculpture, produced for the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
 * Salt, Lime and Me - A series of bronze sculptures exhibited in Chester Cathedral in 2018. The sculptures will be permanently installed in Northwich, Cheshire in 2020.
 * The Six White Mice - An installation in Bratislava, Slovakia featuring life size bronze sculptures. Eleven in total, they tell a fairy story written by the artist's wife.
 * Owain Glyndwr - Installed in Corwen, Wales in 2007, the statue has become a national symbol depicting as it does the 15th Century last true Prince of Wales.
 * "i am" - This 2019 installation features in the centre of Aylesbury. It comprises of three, 3m painted bronze sculptures.
 * Up There - Five brightly coloured sculptures, installed in the centre of Manchester in 2010. The figures are displayed on top of 5m stainless steel columns. The entire artworks stand 8m above First Street, Manchester.
 * Lions of the sky - A life size bronze lion installed in Prague in 2015. Commissioned by the British expat community in Czech Republic to honour the brave pilots and crew who helped Britain defeat the Luftwaffe in 1941.

Spofforth was born in 1963 and grew up with his three sisters in Litherland just north of Liverpool. After leaving school in 1980, Spofforth started his working life as a graphic designer in City. This led him to an early career in advertising and marketing. Sculpture was something Spofforth had always enjoyed and over time it became his main focus. Sculpture allowed him to really express himself, free from the restrictions and parameters of the commercial brief. After a few local exhibitions, Spofforth exhibited his work at the Bruton Street Gallery in Mayfair, London in 1995. This proved to be a career milestone and a real step change in his life. It directly led to his first large public commission in 1996. Entitled "The Spirit of New Orleans" it features four jazz musicians and is a celebration of traditional jazz. Keen to portray the subject accurately, Spofforth travelled to New Orleans and interviewed players at the world famous Preservation Hall in the French Quarter, the home of jazz. The sculpture features the actual jazzmen Spofforth met during his visit. They were all more than happy to model for the piece and become immortalised! It stands to this day in the Trafford Centre just outside Manchester and has been enjoyed by the millions of people who visit there every year.

Colin Spofforth has been creating large, challenging sculptures for over twenty four years. Working in clay and wax, his work is predominantly cast in bronze although he has produced sculpture in steel, fibreglass and stone.

"Sculpture creates places"