‘Shaken, not Stirred’, sublime rare and uniquely worthy of the great man himself, outrageous audacious ridonculous ‘Furniture Art’ by way of the master craftsman that is Mr Mark Brazier-Jones the...
‘Shaken, not Stirred’, sublime rare and uniquely worthy of the great man himself, outrageous audacious ridonculous ‘Furniture Art’ by way of the master craftsman that is Mr Mark Brazier-Jones the ‘Zargazo’ Cocktail Cabinet finished in Bronze, Copper, Etched & Engraved Glass England circa 1998, the rectangular boxed glazed upper section with two doors opening to reveal an illuminated shelved interior, applied bronze ‘sea-creature’ roundels with polished bronze hinges and a large brass centralized lock, all raised on naturalistically tall cast bronze cabriole legs, a true MBJ statement piece, ‘Sargazo’ aka Zargazo (the patterns and shapes on the cabinet) a seaweed which provides a habitat for oceanic wildlife found in Mexico.
About the artist: Mark Brazier-Jones was born in New Zealand in 1956 and moved to the UK at the age of 12. After earning a BA in ceramic sculpture, he found work in the emerging music video business. In the late 1970s and early ‘80s, he designed and built sets for the likes of David Bowie, Duran Duran, Spandau Baleet, Freddy Mercury, and Elton John.
As he became enmeshed in the legendary London warehouse party scene, he developed a close friendship with both Tom Dixon and Nick Jones, members of local band Funkapolitan. The three friends started the Creative Salvage Group in 1983, later to be joined by Andre Dubreuil.
After a few years, Brazier-Jones moved to the countryside and returned to his ceramic roots. Soon he was sculpting furniture to be cast in bronze. He conceived his first limited-edition chair, the Wingback, in 1987; it was sold out before the start of 1988. Other standouts from Brazier-Jones’ career included the Bond Armchair (ca. 1990), San Demas Lounge (1996), and Duchess Chandelier (2010).
Brazier-Jones’s work can be found in museum’s around the world, like the Victoria & Albert in London, Museum of Art & Design in New York, and Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, as well as many important private collections.