Realization of a monumental statue for the municipality of Schoten, Belgium.
(c) Mark Dedrie
Mark Dedrie
1962
Mark began his career as a bronze caster, perfecting the craft while feeling a desire to create himself. Hesitantly, step by step, and at first rarely satisfied with the result. The year 1996 marked a crucial turning point.
The municipal council of Schoten commissioned him to work out a design he had submitted for an art competition. Thus was born a new artist and sculptor, who started with abstract sculptures and gradually developed into creating stylised bronze human and animal figures. For the past 20 years, he has focused mainly on animals, with a particular fondness for birds.
Nature has always served as the main source of inspiration for Mark. He starts from observing animals in their natural environment, where poses, movements, colour combinations, and even the way they look feed his creative insights. His works capture a moment in their simplicity and tautness.
Mark Dedrie has gained international recognition, and his sculptures are sold in the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, France and the Middle East. He has exhibited at impressive venues such as the Royal Botanic Gardens in London and the Weltvogelpark in Germany. Mark was selected twice for Art and the Animal (in 2018 and 2019) and in 2019 made his debut at Birds in Art, an annual museum exhibition in the United States that presents the most prominent contemporary artistic interpretations of birds. His debut was an instant hit, as the museum's selection committee purchased his bronze sword hummingbird. Since then, he has participated in the museum exhibition Birds in Art three more times, with another purchase in 2023, this time the bronze kiwi sculpture 'Down under'.
