Local sculptor commissioned to design iconic artwork for Telford Centre

Up-and-coming local sculptor Jacob Chandler has been commissioned to design an iconic piece of art for a site close to the entrance of the new Fashion Quarter at the Telford Centre, when it is completed next year.

Commenting on the appointment, Glynn Morrow - Centre Manager at the Telford Centre – said: “The Fashion Quarter forms a key element of our current £50m investment programme and the site is set to become one of the Centre’s most important entrances. We wanted to find a sculptor that could create an important, bespoke design that would celebrate Telford’s heritage while also being entirely contemporary and forward looking in style & delivery. Although only 24 years old, Jacob is an exciting, emerging artist and we are delighted to be able to support a young, local artist in this way.”

Jacob has lived in Wellington, Telford his entire life and drew his initial inspiration from regular childhood visits to the various Ironbridge Gorge Museum sites.

“Watching the blacksmith, talking to the pattern maker/casting expert and particularly seeing the furnace spew forth its molten iron, forged my addiction to all things metal. It led me to develop my own forge and furnace, powered by a hair dryer, before I had even left school” Jacob says. “The Iron Bridge itself has also had a huge influence on my work. My early figurative sculptures replicate its use of a layered skeletal iron which embraced a medium more normally used for construction than fine art. It provided me with the basis for the more refined sculptures and was the origin of my angular forms.”

Jacob's early career was supported by the artist and owner of the Ironbridge Museum of Steel, sculptor Pam Brown, and she continues to be influential in his life.

Jacob’s work has been exhibited internationally on a regular basis in places as far afield as Moscow, New York, Philadelphia and Athens and has also been highly commended by The Royal Birmingham Society of Art.

The Mall Gallery in London will be exhibiting his work again this week, the second time that he has been part of a team of young artists whose Patron Princess Ann, supports the charity, “Art for Youth,” with a similar mission to Children in Need. Jacob is also pleased to have supported “The Excellence of Youth”, a prestigious charity event in Suffolk last week.

His work is currently also on exhibition at the European Medical Agency's head office in Canary Wharf, Where it is appreciated by visitors from all over Europe.

Locally his work has been on view since 2014 in Ironbridge, initially at The Ironbridge Fine Arts & Framing gallery and moving to different venues in the town. His piece “The Lift”, which was originally at Elmhurst Ballet School in Birmingham, a feeder school for the Royal Ballet Birmingham, is now in the central quad at The Maws Craft Centre in Jackfield.

A representative selection of work can be seen in The Soden Collection in Shrewsbury, alongside the works of Picasso, Dali and many other greats of contemporary art. “I have to pinch myself when I see my work with that of Bacon, Lichtenstein and Freud. It is beyond my wildest dreams” says Jacob.

“I am now delighted to be working with the owners of the Telford Centre on this exciting new project” he continues. “I am proud of the fact that Telford is such a great success story and this commission will provide a fabulous showcase site for my work in the heart of my home town.”

Jacob has strong links with Telford industry, such as The Metal Works and The 3D Measurement Company. These links and Telford's strong manufacturing base, enable him to take advantage of technological breakthroughs and enable his designs.

Councillor Lee Carter, Cabinet Member with special responsibility for Finance, Commercial Services & Economic Development at Telford & Wrekin Council, said “We are delighted to see a young local artist making his mark on the newest development at the shopping centre. It is important to support local talent and Jacob is clearly a talented artist whose legacy to his home town will be admired for many years to come.”

Jacob’s aim in designing the Fashion Quarter artwork will be to both speak to Telford’s industrial history through the use of metal and traditional manufacturing methods, while also capturing the sense of elation that a shopper feels finding the perfect fashion piece – real “retail therapy”. The piece will be at least 6ft tall and stand near the entrance to the fashion quarter.