Marcus Cornish
- Faculty
Biography
Marcus Cornish gained a first class honours degree in Sculpture from Camberwell School of Art followed by an MA from the Royal College of Art. In 1993 Marcus was elected a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors. He won a scholarship to India to study the work of Ayanar Potter Priests and was awarded a Henry Moore scholarship to pursue ceramic art. He was artist-in-residence at the Museum of London in 2005-6 and at an Ibstock brick factory for a year. He was also invited to be official tour artist on a diplomatic tour to Eastern Europe with HRH The Prince of Wales and as tour artist with the British Army in Kosovo. Recently, Marcus carried out commissions for the Watts Gallery and The Royal Society. His work has been recognised in a number of awards both nationally and internationally and covered in The Times, Independent and Sculpture Magazines.
On drawing
Drawing is an essential part of my practice. It is useful for planning, composing, and giving myself a distance from the object, a balance between the physical and conceptual. It’s also useful as a check. When I sculpt hollows into a form, they might feel right to my hands, but when I stand back I realise that tones are wrong or shadows fall in different places. Drawing with tone helps me more accurately understand the shapes, and make corrections. In terms of composition it may only take one drawing from one angle to provide an insight into what is not quite working with the whole sculpture. Drawing also helps me capture the core energy in a subject, which is really useful for generating a sculpture later.
