Harry Chadwick wins Rising Stars 2023

Sculptor Harry Chadwick has been selected as the winner of the Rising Stars 2023 Award. He works predominantly in metal and glass.

His Rising Stars prize includes a professional development award of £1,000 and a solo exhibition at the New Ashgate Gallery in Farnham, Surrey, in 2024.

Rising Stars is a curated, national platform to foster and champion new talent, early career makers, students and graduates from BA and MA crafts, design and applied arts programmes across the UK. It is organised by New Ashgate Gallery in partnership with the University for the Creative Arts and Dan Goode of Making Goode, and supported by Billmeir Charitable Trust.

Harry holds a BA in 3D Design Crafts from Arts University Plymouth (2019-2022). He welds, folds, and forms metal into sculptural pieces, encapsulating glass sheet to catch the light and to give a sense of movement to his work.

Harry’s work is an extension of his final degree show, ‘Pop Futurism’, where Pop Art blends with the Futurist movement. The sculptures reference his former career as an engineer, welder and fabricator. The familiar silhouettes of tools used within the workshop are cut from steel and powder-coated in bright colours. Contained within these tough outer shells is sheet glass, each layer resonating upwards from an invisible action. The large steel saws show resistance and movement where none should be, as a metaphor for the trials of life.

There were 113 applications to this year’s Rising Stars award, from whom 24 talented makers were selected for the current Rising Stars exhibition. They are Jiro Ametani, Shannon Ellis Baker, Jarrad Belton, Faye Bentley, Viki Benwell, Luciana Bohm, Harry Chadwick, Guy Conners, Lisa Ghiggini, Amy Findlay, Lulu Harrison, Ismail Kamran, Nancy Main, Celia MacPherson, Natalie McCormack, Shakhina Mirjonova, Helen Munday, Chris Murphy, Parneet Pahwa, Rachel Peters, Helena Roberts, Samantha Sloane, Gow Tanaka and Ömer Öner.

See their work from 11 March to 22 April at the New Ashgate Gallery, open Tuesdays-Saturdays from 10.30am-5pm. Entry is free. More information and access to the digital catalogue here.

The winner and makers were selected by a panel of judges; Dan Goode (Making Goode), Dr Outi Remes (New Ashgate Gallery), Sharon Ting (University for the Creative Arts, Textiles) and Debra Allman (UCA, Jewellery, Ceramics & Glass).

Alongside the work of these new makers, Zeba Imam, the Winner of Rising Stars Award 2022 returns to the gallery for her One Year On exhibition of ceramics.

New Ashgate Gallery is at Waggon Yard, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7PS. Website: www.newashgate.org.uk

Main image: (left) Harry Chadwick, the winner of Rising Stars 2023, and ceramicist Nancy Main (runner up). Photo: Outi Remes.