Robert Mach
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Robert Mach’s solo exhibition ‘Foiled yet again’ was held at Fire Station Creative June 2019.
“I’m inspired by the world around me, I like to make stuff with stuff. It’s hard to see or pass anything and not think what I could do with it. I bought a dozen pairs of crazily high women’s shoes from a charity shop last week. I’ve no idea what to make with them but they cry out to be used.”
Robert on his use of foil:
“Foil is a great material for wrapping around forms as it is strong, flexible and easily manipulated. It comes in a huge range of designs and colours, loaded with imagery and patterns. For me it’s always a question of what else, what more, how much bigger, smaller, how differently can I use the material.”
Alongside various solo exhibitions Robert has created an array of sculptures such as a charity ‘Oor Wullie’ for Tunnocks and Edinburgh fund managers Walter Scott and a pair of charity piglets for the sovereign art foundation in Hong Kong of which one is now on display in a major accounting firm. In 2018 he foiled entire gallery walls at the Royal Academy summer show and then in 2019 collaborated with his brother David Mach to create ‘Easy tiger’ a Tunnock’s tea cake tiger sculpture also on display at the academy. Robert has also teamed up with ceramicist Simon Ward creating a vase that was shortlisted for prizes in UK, Belgium and Ireland.
“Art is just a compulsion, it’s a permanently irritating itch that occasionally brings some short lived ecstasy after a particularly good scratch.”
Robert mainly works from home using everything from spare rooms, garages, dining room tables and kitchen counters as space in which he creates.