Meeting Artist Fred Gordon 

Off on an African Adventure with Tools in Hand

We always love it when artists pop into the gallery - and meeting Fred Gordon last week was a real pleasure. Fred works from the Sculpture Castings foundry in Basingstoke, where he creates beautifully characterful bronze animal sculptures using the traditional lost wax process.

Fred spoke about being drawn to bronze not just for its beauty, but for the entire process behind it - the transformation from wire to soft, malleable wax, then into a permanent object that can last for generations. The creation is enriched by the many stages involved, with Fred taking part in every step - from construction through to patination, which adds colour and texture and truly brings the piece to life.

Describing the foundry environment as inspiring, Fred shared that he’s still genuinely excited by time spent there, working through these processes and being surrounded by other artists.

Layering Meaning

Fred’s bronzes are instantly recognisable, with figures that have a distinctive, almost “bandaged” feel, created using sheets of wax in an abstract way.

He explained that this process developed organically as he manipulated the wax sheets used in the casting process in his first foundry job. The sheet wax behaves very differently depending on temperature - soft and pliable when warm, firm and strong when cold. Fred became fascinated by how layering, stripping back, and manipulating the form created hollows and introduced negative space. These changes in light and movement add unexpected detail to the final bronze, allowing what is normally a very solid material to take on a new sense of fluidity and energy.

Against this textured body, Fred focuses on the animal’s defining features. The eyes, face and stance are rendered with striking detail, giving each piece a wonderful balance of abstraction and realism.

A Sculptor on Safari

What makes this introduction even more exciting is that Fred is about to head off to spend a month as Artist in Residence at Borana Lodge in Kenya. He'll be setting up a small studio and immersing himself in the surrounding wildlife, studying the animals in their natural environment. Fred tells us he'll have a particular focus on African wild dogs, although we’ve also put in a hopeful vote for a hippopotamus. 

Asking what draws him to wild dogs, he explained the initial attraction is their beautiful colouring, blacks and browns which lend themselves particularly well to bronze. Fred is also fascinated by their complex social behaviour - the way they move, interact, and function as a group. 

Being out there in person, surrounded by the sights, sounds and movement of these animals, is an incredible opportunity for any sculptor. Having completed a previous residency in Limpopo, Fred explained that this daily immersion is invaluable - sketching, observing, and returning to the same subject again and again allows ideas to settle more deeply. While even fleeting moments can be powerful, it’s the sustained exposure that helps him understand an animal’s form and movement.

We can’t wait to see how this experience feeds into Fred’s creative process and influences his future pieces.

Fred also spoke about the importance of Borana’s conservation work, and how meaningful it feels to create art within a setting that actively gives back. Knowing the residency supports wildlife protection adds another layer of purpose to the work he’ll be developing while he’s there, and he’s committed to exploring ways his work might contribute directly to these conservation efforts.

Follow the Journey

It was wonderful to talk to Fred who is not only incredibly talented, but also genuinely lovely — polite, humble, and quietly proud to see his work displayed among so many other sculptures.

Fred has promised to send us photographs and updates through his time in Kenya, so we look forward to sharing more with you as we hear his news. It’s a rare chance to follow an artist’s journey in real time — from observation and inspiration to finished bronze. 

For now, we’re delighted to introduce Fred Gordon to you and look forward to seeing where this adventure takes him and his already distinctive work.