I like this artist, because I like Brutalist architecture, and his work tends to be found attached to buildings of this kind. In the 1960s his work was commissioned by local authorities and large companies, and he employed 40 assistants in the UK. This type of architecture has not been much admired in recent years, but his murals and sculptures are increasingly receiving listed status, and being protected and relocated if the surrounding buildings are demolished. His work is predominately seen in urban environments. I am interested in cities, and I like the textures he created and the detail, as can be seen in the work above.
Mitchell graduated from the Royal College of Art, in 1957 and specialised in surface decoration. He made public murals, in cement, concrete, wood or resin, and he carved his designs in clay beforehand.
He made a lot of work in the North West, such as Liverpool Cathedral which I love. He also made panels on a building at Manchester University, and although I should have been able to see them from my student common room, I have no recollection of seeing the work. Maybe it is present in my subconscious somewhere, I need to revisit the campus to take a look.
Mitchell also worked with wet clay and improvised elements of the design as he worked, he then created the final wall pieces by adding concrete or resin. I would like to manipulate the wet clay to produce work.
There are a couple of videos on you tube with Mitchell. One shows his making process, and how he carved the layers of clay with a knife and his hands. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQGLdJPc948
In another he talks about making art accessible to the majority of people, those who would not normally access it, but who might use the underpass in Hockley Birmingham on a daily basis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6NBJN535lE. This reminds me of the lecture given by Anna Lambert, who also had an objective to make her work accessible to ordinary people.
Comments