Bronze with silver veining and unique nibbled edge glass. 370h x 140w cms
Mark Reed’s Family Tree bronze and silver sculpture was a bespoke private commission for a client in the Middle East for their palatial private home.
The client wanted to capture the essence of the family in a bronze and silver sculpture and incorporate the 12 gold chalices that were a wedding gift, which were of familial and religious significance to them.
Reed sought to create a ‘Family Tree’ sculpture that expresses the spirit of the family as it exists at that moment, the roots of the sculpture signify the mother and father- anchoring, embracing and nurturing the younger family members, holding the family together.
The young branches grow upwards toward the light.
The nucleus of the bronze trunk is the masculine father with the maternal feminine spirit expressed in the silver vines cradling the sculpture. The gold chalices are vessels, holding memories past and yet to be created, the glass, leaves which provide life and vitality.
The tree sculpture has integral LED lighting within the flowing branches and the gnarled trunk and the light emanates from the bronze and silver artwork bringing energy from within signifying the inner strength of the family as an entity from the roots to the outermost branches- the vital communication between the family. The internal lighting creates a magical, enchanting presence in the family’s home.
Mark was compelled to sculpt a secret drawer for family keepsakes- a lock of baby hair to a family jewel, hidden in a knot in the tree trunk. Reed was originally inspired to create the secret drawer from his wife’s childhood affection for one in her grandfather’s cabinet.
Mark Reed’s spirit of play was translated into a chilled compartment unseen in the bronze tree to be used as a luxurious sculptural water or champagne cooler, adding an element of surprise and romance to the piece.
The Family Tree sculpture encapsulates the intrinsic nature of the family, the rising generation will then serve as the roots to impart knowledge, ideas, ethics and love to their own families in turn.
” A good word is like a good tree whose root is firmly fixed and whose branches reach the sky” Qur’an 14:24
The internal lighting highlights the glistening, reflective silver veining within the bronze tree sculpture and frames the family wedding chalices on the bespoke ‘leaves’ of the tree. The silver contrasts and compliments the deeper organic warm, chestnut bronze of the tree giving an elegance and grace to the aesthetic whole.Mark loved the dynamic process of discussion and engagement with the client and their architect working with them to realise the creation of the sculpture and its ultimate installation
The Family Tree sculpture is a bold design, idiosyncratic and complementing the client’s environment, the art worked brilliantly with the architects modern development project, a bold bespoke artwork in the contemporary interior design of this stunning Middle Eastern family home.
