David Williams OAS, WOA – portfolio

Contact the artist

https://www.sculptedinstone.co.uk

sculptedinstone [at] gmail.com

Exhibition information

David sculpts in stone. His inspiration comes from natural forms. This can be very clear – birds feature often in his work as do trees and their leaves – and sometimes far less so – the ‘eye’ in the tail of a peacock, a swirling eddy in water, the path of a falling leaf, fossils in the very stone which he is working. He favours limestones, slate and occasionally more exotic stones. Copper, aluminium and 24ct gold leaf can feature, making the stone sing in sunlight. 

 

Sculpture is made to be touched – indeed he invites exhibition visitors to do so – and so texture is important to him. Sometimes this means that a piece will be sanded until it is as smooth as can be and then wax polished to an even greater sheen and softer texture. On other occasions it means retaining the rough surface of the quarried or broken stone. Whether it is one of these extremes or something in between, his sculpture, whatever its scale, is made to be as pleasing and thought-provoking to the hand as it is to the eye. He is particularly interested in the way that complex surfaces intersect to form simple curves to suggest shape and movement despite an economy of form. His years of experience teaching and practising photography mean that his stone pieces often capture a ‘decisive moment’: he tries to depict movement and interaction that defy the solidity of the medium.  With work for the outdoors made with gardens in mind, he relishes the fact that once installed, a piece will slowly age and become part of the garden with algae, mosses, plants and the light and shade of the changing days and seasons. Indoor pieces are equally intended to earn their space in the home, inviting a different conversation as you move around them. 

Artist information

A practising sculptor for over ten years, David was for many years a teacher of chemistry and photography in schools. He is a member of West Ox Arts and an elected member of Oxford Arts Society, and he serves on the board of Oxfordshire Artweeks. In 2022 he was honoured with the Lady Mary Moser Award. His work has been exhibited across England and is found in private collections nationally and in Europe and the USA. In 2025 he created The Bampton Obelisk, a significant piece of commissioned public art which is to be installed in the centre of Bampton in early 2026.