In 1997, David Mach completed one of his most significant public commissions ‘Brick Train’ on the outskirts of Darlington, England. Created from over 185,000 Accrington Nori bricks using a huge team of skilled bricklayers the sculpture is 29 metres long (95ft) and 7 metres high. To celebrate Darlington’s railway heritage Mach took inspiration for the shape of Train from the steam locomotive Mallard which set a UK rail speed record of 126 miles per hour in 1938 and depicts the locomotive exiting a tunnel with steam billowing out behind it.

The maquette Mach made for this commission was an artwork in itself and a crucial tool for making sure the monumental work could be executed correctly. Originally Mach made the maquette from thousands of individual bricks of balsa wood glued in place however over time this began to deteriorate and last year Mach decided to cast the maquette with Pangolin Editions to have a lasting record of this important commission. It is the first time that Mach has cast at scale in bronze making it one of the few works by Mach that can be bought and displayed both inside and outdoors.

Of the Train commission Mach recalls:
‘It was so exciting working on Train which was really a building sized sculpture and one I hoped would gain like the Mallard, it’s inspiration, a national identity. I learned a lot on that project working with so many different teams, architects, surveyors, bricklayers even mortar specialists. There was a considerable amount of detail to go into, not just in the sculpture’s building but in the politics involved, local and nationwide, in the effort required to keep the project rolling along and how much the artist needs to drive such projects. Important never to take your eye of the ball ‘

Born in Methil, Scotland in 1956, Mach graduated from the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee in 1979 before moving onto study at the Royal College of Art, London in 1982. He is a former Turner Prize nominee and was elected a Royal Academician in 1998. Throughout his career Mach has held numerous teaching positions within the art world and was appointed Professor of Sculpture at the Royal Academy of Arts in 2010. As well as exhibiting internationally in such locations as London, New York, Dubai and Hong Kong; his work is held in numerous prestigious public and private collections around the world. In 2021, David Mach’s first architectural commission Mach 1 will be completed for Edinburgh Park.

David Mach lives and works in London and Scotland. Pangolin London are proud to represent David Mach.