In 2020, we at Collier & Dobson were excited to continue our new commissioned collaboration with highly skilled fine art technician Adam Paddon with a small collection of stunning bronze 'fruit' sculpture, which artfully represented his captivation with taking the norm and adding a bright and interesting twist.
From those initial commissioned pieces, the portfolio continues to grow, with pieces in the edition available to be scaled to your requirements, allowing Adam to transform more 'standard' elements into the realms of something very special.
The latest piece, Conker, was introduced in Autumn last year, and is remarkable for its exquisitely crafted and realistic - yet large-scale - representation of those celebrated horse chestnut offerings, with their gleaming seeds and spiky green casing.
Adams' passion for ‘making’ began at a young age, when he would seek to convert everyday objects into something curious and stimulating, and later he would complete a degree in Art & Design at Norwich University.
Adam has spent more than 10 years focusing on his passion for bronze, fine tuning skills that have led him to work with some of the UK’s leading sculptors, including Simon Gudgeon, William Montgomery, and Adam Binder.
As head patinateur and foundry manager at Sculpture Castings Ltd - one of the UK's leading foundries - he also helps many other skilled artists create their own bronze and silver sculpture, from mould-making all the way to the patination process. So accomplished and passionate about the colours and effects in the art of patination is he that the artists with whom he works trust his skill and judgement, often leaving him to formulate the best patina for their piece.
Adam has a catalogue of high-profile commissions to his name, including stands at RHS Hampton Court Flower Show, The Ideal Home Show and The Grand Designs Show, as well as displaying works for sale at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Sotheby's and a myriad of sculpture parks, galleries, retail outlets and exhibitions across the UK.
Back in 2008, Adam was a member of one of the specialist teams, alongside Hampshire County Council Property Services, HED Landscape Architects, and Arts Council England, which helped transform the landscape of Everest Community College in Basingstoke.
Along with Thomas Joynes, he created a sculptural piece for the Science and Technology garden. Of the project, a teacher at the college said “The landscaping is phenomenal and has also carried on the positive influence and the schools’ unique identity”.
In his current role, he has had the privilege – and the exceptional skills necessary – to work on some exciting and prestigious projects. He says that he is extremely proud of his collaborations, and loves that the work he carries out with other artists and his day-to-day experience of working in the foundry has honed his craft, and truly finds the fun in joining forces to work on a project.
His propensity for 'partnership' even extends to his materials, favouring as he does a merging of innovative technical techniques, like digital treatments and 3D printing, with more traditional ones, like the lost wax process and chemical patination.
Extremely hard working (working until the early hours of the morning is not uncommon for him), and unduly modest, Adam doesn’t consider himself to be ‘creative’ as such, instead he says he is driven by 'processes and making'.
The welcoming of his little girl to the world almost two years ago has given him even more drive and hastened focus for his future projects. He says he is excited to explore his fascination and aptitude for using modern materials in unconventional ways in order to create the effect of an organic appearance,
applying what he coins a “crisp twist on nature”...and we have to say, we're pretty excited too!
Head over to our online gallery to browse Adam's current collection of stunning sculpture, or give us a call if you would like to discuss scaling any of the pieces to your requirements.
