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John Mitchell was a highly respected artist, sculptor and tutor. Much of his work was abstract and based on proportional systems such as the Fibonacci sequence.  Originally from Surrey, he was Cornwall based, with a dedicated international following. He honed his craft in his idyllic home and studio overlooking Newlyn Harbour.

David Ross, fellow artist and sculptor who exhibited with Mitchell in the 1994 exhibition ‘Bronze Works’ at Wimbledon School of Art, described his works as “existing on the edge of language. It is the passion to find something rather than explain it, to let a set of visual conditions grow and change through the combination of the highly ordered alongside the intuited which is the hallmark of John Mitchell’s achievement.”

This is no more evident than within Mitchell’s beguiling works with the Fibonacci sequence or his frustum bronzes, which at times interact with each other, whilst others act as a void within the bronze itself; the appearance of which could be mistaken for that of a Ben Nicholson painting being brought to life. Precise, measured and controlled, Mitchell’s works initially project a level of minimalism and a reductive character, but it is this subtlety mixed with his geometric motifs that conjure up form, and allow play with space and light. The serene quality of his meticulously made work looks stunning in a modern interior but also adds a playful quirkiness to a traditional or mid-century setting. Lay’s expect interior designers to be particularly excited by this collection.

Mitchell trained at Kingston College of Art, where he demonstrated a natural aptitude for observation and spatial awareness.  He held his first solo exhibition at Camden Arts Centre in 1972. Major solo shows followed throughout the 1970s in the UK and Europe, including the Serpentine Gallery in London. In 1978 he was awarded the distinguished Gregory Fellowship at Leeds University.

Throughout his career, Mitchell shared his knowledge and was a dedicated and exacting lecturer,  teaching  at  both  Coventry  and  Stourbridge  Colleges of Art. He was Course Director of the M.A Fine Art course at Birmingham Polytechnic and Senior Fellow in Fine Art at Cardiff College of Art.

The

showcases a lifetime of Mitchell’s work, uniting the worlds of mathematics and art, exploring a language without words.

Lay’s, Cornwall’s leading auctioneers, are delighted to be bringing this artist’s work back into the public realm for fresh eyes to enjoy and fall in love with and promise that the drama of a live auction is surely one of the most exciting ways to bring new art into your home.