John Routledge creates wonderful sculptures using metal and light. John says:

"The basis of all my artwork is light.  I create light through the use of fluorescent tubes, LEDs, and incandescent and energy saving bulbs.  I channel it with the use of glass, resin, plastic and I manipulate it using mirrors or metallic surfaces.  What this leads to is the creation of strong, bold, often large scale abstract sculptures and installations.  Abstract forms using basic shapes and bold colour to express a beauty and simplicity beyond the body, and installations which form environments of experience, works which encourage involvement, interaction, rather than observation.  The installations often employing collaborative practice with other art forms most notably music.

Minimalist artists such as Dan Flavin and Donald Judd have had strong influences on my practice as well as contemporary artists including Anish Kapoor, Spencer Finch, Erwin Redl, Olafur Eliasson and Jeppe Hein.  Perhaps as a reaction to my environment I often employ industrial materials and methods of construction, but temper this with a strong vibrant use of colour and light which extends the locus of influence of the piece beyond itself.  I have also developed a strong interest in the use of mirrors in my work, using this for its stimulating visual qualities and in an attempt to create a sense of questioning in my work.  A specific example of this would be my multimedia installation ‘The Mirror Room,’ which with four internal walls covered in mirror presented a powerful question of the viewers’ perceptions and even reality itself.

In future work I intend to continue my investigation into colour and its influence on our perceptions, as well as exploring new materials.  I am specifically interested in technological advancements such as fibre optics, advanced LEDs, EEFL lighting, as well as more established materials like neon lighting, and how these can be incorporated in my sculptural works.  I am also interested in exploring 2-way mirror as an artistic medium, and how this could be used to further refine questions of perception and reality in my work, perhaps using it to create self contained ‘infinite environments.’  With my pre-existing tendency for large scale sculpture I am also exploring the realm of public and private commission work, having already been shortlisted for a £30,000 public sculpture commission for the town of Harlow."

"Pyramid" made with steel and fluorescent lighting

Commissions:

NBT/Carillion New Southmead Hospital, Welled Courtyard Commission, May 2010 - Shortlisted for £20’000 commission

Harlow Art Trust New Sculpture Commission, January 2009 - Shortlisted for £30’000 commission

Solo Exhibitions: 

Strip, November 2009 – December 2009, Greenwich Picturehouse, London

The Mirror Room, April 2008, Coventry University Lanchester Gallery, Coventry

Light Works, February 2008, The Herbert ‘Glass House’ Gallery, Coventry

Group Exhibitions: 

Light Art Biennial, September – October 2010, Various Locations in Austria and Germany

Out Yer Tree, August 2010, Coombe Abbey, Coventry

Notfamousyet, Encounters at Wheatley – Documentation, July 2010, Link Gallery, John Radcliff Hospital, Oxford

Notfamousyet, Encounters at Wheatley, June 2010 Wheatley Manor, Wheatley, Oxfordshire

Art in the Garden - Inside, July 2009 – October 2009 Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Romsey, Hampshire

Art in the Garden, May 2009 – October 2009 Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Romsey, Hampshire

63 Degrees – Coventry School of Art and Design Degree Show 2008, May 2008 Coventry School of Art and Design, Coventry

This is what we have done, March 2008, The Herbert ‘Glass House’ Gallery, Coventry

World AIDS Day Charity Auction, December 2007 St. Philips Cathedral, Birmingham