Chris Crane was born in 1976 in the South Lake District town of Kendal.
He studied fine art and specialised in sculpture at Cardiff university.
He has been developing his own art practice in Carmarthenshire since 2007. Chris draws much of his inspiration from the natural world and the subjects of his art focuses on British wildlife.
The majority of his work is captured in reclaimed steel. A scaffolding clamp can capture the line of the hare’s brow, or equally, the eyelid of a red stag, while a simple nut could define an otter’s nose.
Many parts and objects are merged together, often beyond recognition. But even when not recognisable, the components bring a richness to the work. The way the ergonomic shape of a pair of pliers or a spanner curves can steer the direction and form that the work takes. An otter in motion could be built around the curves taken from a lorry wheel, whereas some carpenter’s pincers can define the talons of a kestrel.
When these parts and objects remain visible, objects within objects, they bring a quality and depth of interest to the form as well as a connection of familiarity with the viewer, reconnecting the viewer to the depicted subject of nature that we are becoming ever more distant to.
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