Chris Williams has taken an unusual path to artistic expression: he sculpts astronomical objects out of star stuff (our world and everything in it is star stuff) that fold and weave our scientific understanding of these objects into the forms he creates.
From furniture maker to star maker, Chris enjoys the physical aspects of his work as much as the creative.
I’ll now let Chris speak for himself:
As a sculptor I draw inspiration and ideas from my interest in the wealth of data within the subjects of astronomy, cosmology and physics. My aim is to produce forms that reveal the scientific landscapes inherent in these subjects through techniques that make them more accessible to a wider audience.
My approach to the construction of my art work stems from my background training and experience as a furniture maker and craftsman. I make work from traditional materials, usually timber, both natural and man made. I am experienced in the use of Computer Aided Design and often develop work in the Rhino software I am familiar with. Recently I have started to experiment in how the use of Computer Aided Manufacture can influence my sculptural practice; this has been in collaboration with the woodland charity, Coed Cymru. I employ my various hand making skills when constructing work which includes wood turning.
One no longer need construct a Large Hadron Collider in their living room to take up residence with a black hole.
Chris is a fine arts craftsman with several degrees in furniture making (if he makes you a cabinet, it just might be larger on the inside than it is outside!); he works with charitable organizations (including Coed Cymru mentioned previously) and frequently gives talks on the intersection of art and astronomy. In 2011 he presented at the Welsh Artist of the Year Exhibition in Cardiff.
(Ed. Note. An Orrery is a clockwork device for tracking and displaying the locations of the planets and moons of the solar system. Bootes is a constellation – the Herdsman – in the northern sky. Arcturus can be found in this constellation. Pisces (the fish) is one of the 12 zodiacal constellations.)
Chris and his works can be visited at his website – Furniture4StarGazers – where a number of his works are for sale (he accepts commissions too) and he can also be found on Twitter (@Chris_W_Art) and on Facebook.
