Oliver Cook who makes sculptural forms and functional objects in alabaster and marble from his home and studio in Manchester .
Image credit : Fernando Lobina
EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIGHT AND STONE
Using everyday objects such as vases and bowls as a starting point , his work explores the relationship between light and the translucent properties of the stone . This interplay between light and form , surface , and texture , explores the notion of movement within his work . When creating a piece , he often has a specific time of day in mind . It could be when the sun falls in a certain corner of the house or a place that always gets first light in the morning . Cook ’ s technique and process is self-taught and has developed organically , drawing upon traditional carving techniques and skills learned in ceramics . Oliver graduated with a BSc in Design Ergonomics at Loughborough
University in 2016 and it was a trip to Kettle ’ s Yard in 2019 , where he was struck by an exhibition on stoneware , that led him to experiment in alabaster .
‘ I ’ ve always made things – I was creating wooden furniture for a long time before I was working with stone – but I wanted to try something new . In September 2019 , I visited Kettle ’ s Yard in Cambridge , where I was living at the time . There was an exhibition on the ceramicist Jennifer Lee , showcasing all her vases . It got me thinking . I had also just come across the work of Isamu Noguchi and Hanna Eshel and , while neither of them work in alabaster , I was really drawn to the nature of their sculptures .
Image credit : Fernando Lobina
THE ART OF LUXURY Issue 58 2023