Mark Brazier Jones, The Full Package
Artist, Sculptor, Furniture Maker, Lighting Designer & Engineer
Mark is an artist, sculptor, furniture maker, lighting designer, and engineer wrapped into one. Today he works an hour away from his native London, in a rustic 16th century barn in rural Hertfordshire, driving to work in one of his collection of American classic cars. ‘I like to buy old and make it reliable,’ he says.
New Zealander Mark Brazier-Jones (b.1956) began his career as a furniture maker in 1983, as a founding member of the Creative Salvage Group. The group’s first show of welded sculpture-furniture - anarchic and experimental design made from bits of Broken Britain - was sold out, poetically described by Nick Wright in Cut and Shut: The History of Creative Salvage – as a mix of ‘sex, drugs and cabriole legs’. Paul Smith was a patron. So, too, Mario Testino, Nigel Coates and Mick Jagger.
Mark is an artist, sculptor, furniture maker, lighting designer, and engineer wrapped into one. Today he works an hour away from his native London, in a rustic 16th century barn in rural Hertfordshire, driving to work in one of his collection of American classic cars. ‘I like to buy old and make it reliable,’ he says.
He cites his key artistic inspirations as the baroque, particularly the work of architect and sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), and Jean Tinguely, the Swiss post-war sculptor best known for the whacky kinetic art sculptural machines he called ‘meta-mechanics’. Examples of Brazier-Jones’s work are now held in many major public collections including the V&A, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Together with a team of craftsmen, and his life partner Julia (whom he met while she was working on an exhibition of his work at the Stephanie Hoppen Gallery in London), he has honed a collection and philosophy that is unique in the British design world. Clients visit from all over the globe.
The firm works with leading interior designers to produce bespoke items, be it a chandelier for a Hong Kong apartment or a drinks trolley for a client in Canada. ‘We have never been busier,’ says Julia. ‘It seems the whole world has been at home re-evaluating interiors’.
Our 20th Century Design Sale on Tuesday 13 October features a collection of items by Brazier Jones that come for sale from a Cheshire-based couple who purchased the items from Mark in the 1990s.
For more information on the collection or sale, please contact John Black
johnblack@sworder.co.uk | 01279 817778
Recent News
Sacred Pages | Rare and Historic Bibles Up for Auction
A remarkable collection of 177 lots of rare and historic Bibles feature in our timed auction of Books, Manuscripts and Maps from 17-27 April, offering collectors, scholars and history enthusiasts a unique opportunity to own some of the most significant early English translations of the Holy Scriptures. The collection showcases centuries-old editions that played a pivotal role in shaping religious thought, language and culture.
15 April 2025
A Fish Tale
Ahead of his upcoming ‘retirement sale’ on 13–14 May, we caught up with the ever-charismatic Paul Atkinson to uncover some of the captivating stories behind the lots on offer.
11 April 2025
Shifting Silhouettes | 19th Century Fashion
With styles and silhouettes endlessly evolving during the Victorian period, the continuous advancements in fashion offered women more choice and freedom regarding their attire. Sworders are delighted to present a collection of Victorian clothing in our upcoming Jewellery, Designer Handbags & Accessories sale, taking place on Wednesday 23 April.
9 April 2025