David Mach (1956 – )

David Mach is a sculptor and installation artist whose artistic style is based on flowing assemblages of mass-produced objects, often including magazines, newspapers, car tyres and match sticks.

Mach studied at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, then at the Royal College of Art, London. He was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1988 and elected a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1998. In 2000 he was appointed Professor of Sculpture at the Royal Academy Schools.

Mach began making his iconic matchstick sculptures in the 1980s, mostly in the form of human or animal heads and masks. The unstruck match heads form the surface of the faces, and they are often only sculptural elements for a short period before being ignited as a form of performance art. He has also produced several larger-scale permanent public works such as Out of Order, Kingston Upon Thames, and Big Heids, visible from the M8 between Glasgow and Edinburgh. David Mach currently works from his studio in London.

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