Inspired in part by his father as well as his love of fly-fishing, Chris Bladen is a contemporary South African sculptor known for his striking bronze sculptures, particularly of fish and birds as well as other African wildlife.

Bladen’s sculptures are notable for their realistic and intricately detailed portrayal of his subjects’ anatomy and movement, despite being constructed from raw industrial materials like bronze. Part of Bladen’s process involves meticulous welding, shaping and finishing techniques to capture the essence and spirit of his subjects.

Video courtesy of Fly Fishing Nation

His sculptures have been exhibited and sold internationally, achieving recognition for their combination of artistic skill, environmental consciousness, and celebration of African wildlife. Bladen’s work appeals to both art collectors and wildlife enthusiasts alike, blending his craftsmanship with a distinct appreciation for the natural world – he has been fortunate enough to spend a significant amount of time observing and absorbing the details of his subjects.

“I was born in Johannesburg but grew up in Pretoria and spent half of my childhood there before moving down to the Cape. My father Richard had a stone carving business where he would teach young artisans the finer nuances around stone carving.”

“He had studied as a landscape architect but then this opportunity came along where he and his brother – Hugh – yes, the man known for his rugby commentary, had the opportunity to get involved with this stone carving business. Hugh was more involved with the sales side of things given his contacts and general nature and Dad was the general manager.”

“I am forever fascinated by brown trout, they’ve inspired poets, artists and musicians over the centuries. Watching these gems frolic in cool, clear, free-flowing rivers entrances me, and with my sculptures I try to share a glimpse of their world of freedom and grace,” says Bladen

“On weekends we would go on jaunts all over the country sourcing stone from places like the old Western Transvaal. It was fantastic. And then back at the factory during holidays and weekends when we weren’t travelling, I would often carve fish. All the tools were there and it sort of just spoke to me.”

“An efficient saltwater predator that hunts alone or in packs. Giant Trevally are one of the most exciting fish to catch on fly, it deserves a place in the game fish hall of fame. To sculpt them I used sharp lines to create tension, and softer tones for feel,” explains Bladen

“Dad didn’t want me to get involved in the arts for a living because he knew how hard it was to make a living out of it – he did everything in his power to keep me from it. And at the time South Africa also faced significant obstacles like sanctions so it was hard to get international exposure. So I ended up studying to become a dental technologist at Pretoria Technikon.”

“I had been given all these books about different careers to follow and it was dental technology that stood out to me because, firstly, it was high precision work and secondly it was creating things with your hands. Plus, the South African course was recognised worldwide. After I had finished, I then went to London and worked in the industry there for about seven years.”

A trout over a pebble bed

“As a dental technologist you work with a dentist, you do all the lab work and make dentures and all the orthodontic appliances. The crown and bridgework are what I specialised in. Typically, in those days, you did a lot of wax carving, high precision stuff, as well as lost wax casting. This also involved fettling little pieces, and then we would fuse porcelain onto it.”

“A porcelain crown had a little metal coping and a bit of gold or some sort of other product. But gold was always the base product and then gold inlays and all those sorts of things, but it was fantastic for my background.”

“I was always fiddling around though, carving miniature fish in wax and then casting them in amongst the crowns and other things. I had probably started fishing around five-years-old and the bug really bit when I was about seven-years-old and went fly-fishing with my father and some of his mates.”

“I had this little coffee grinder fishing reel and a cheap fishing rod. I refused to use bait, you know, I wanted a fly on there. And so they kind of rigged some sort of little sinker with a fly for me. Shortly after that I started using Dad’s fly-fishing stuff and I’ve been a fly-fisher ever since. That’s my big thing, it really moves me, and so that crosses over with my work quite a lot.”

Chris Bladen – bronze scuplture artist, fly-fisher and passionate birder – shows off a wax mould of a sailfish

“I was probably about 13-years-old when I saw a bronze marlin and it just stuck with me. I knew that’s what I wanted to do one day.”

“So sneakily going the dental route, being able to learn about lost wax casting, really helped me because the problem with the stonefish that I carved is that they were super fragile, and you sort of just touch them in the wrong spot and the fin would break off. Being able to cast them in metal was a big dream for me.”

“Living in London gave me the freedom to go and travel the world. I fished in amazing places like Mexico, Belize, the Bahamas and Scotland.”

“But the cold got to me eventually, and I came back to South Africa thinking I’ll probably have to continue in the dental field. I was aiming at opening my own dental lab. And then my brother introduced me to this guy Otto who had a foundry – Bronze Age in Simon’s Town – and Otto said to me why don’t you sculpt a trout and I will cast it for you? I had a bit of time on my hands so I decided to sculpt the trout out of clay – quite a new thing to me. Eventually they made a mould and they cast the piece for me. I did all the fettling myself.”

“The holy grail of saltwater fly fishing, with an uncanny ability to disappear right in front of your eyes, permit is my favourite fish species. In form, character and unpredictability they offer a unique challenge for both fishing and sculpting,” says Bladen

“There was a gallery next to the foundry and there were quite a lot of tourists moving in and out. They were also fascinated by the foundry which cleverly had a sort of platform where the tourists could see the casting process and give them an understanding of how a sculpture is made, which I don’t think many people knew about, it’s quite a big process and there is a lot involved.”

“So I had my trout that I think wasn’t even properly completed yet and someone asked if they could buy it. And I said, yeah, sure. There’s my first sculpture sold. I thought, this is quite cool, so I cast another one and the same thing happened, it was hardly finished, and I sold it. And I thought, hang on, I could do this for a living. That was back in 2000 or 2001, I think, and here we are 24 years later and I haven’t made a tooth since.”

A leaping sailfish, with particularly striking patina work

“I have since started my own little foundry that I am going to be building on, it’s not my first foundry but I just love being involved in the whole process – from start to finish. I guess I got that from my dad and their work went all over the world. I find the alchemy of melting the metal so interesting and when things go wrong, you analyse what’s gone wrong and you grow from that. I want to strive to perfection but I also wanted to use a material where I could work in a lot finer detail.”

“I’ve dabbled with other metals, but I love bronze. It’s such a beautiful, everlasting product. It’s forgiving in a way. It welds beautifully and it takes patinas beautifully. I’m a bit guilty sometimes where I hide the metals with elaborate patinas. But that’s part of the experimenting and striving to be better. I guess it also has a bit to do with the subject matter. From wild dogs through to our beautiful birds, all of them have stunning colours!”

Casting bronze. Picture courtesy of candice@thesocialpost.co.za

“A marlin for instance, have these beautiful electrical colours, to try and mimic those colours with chemicals, without painting the piece, that’s the challenge.”

Other than the lost wax process – also known as investment casting – Bladen also makes use of vacuum casting – explaining that it is phenomenal what you can do with this method especially with the finer pieces that require minute detailing. However, he mainly uses the technique of the lost wax process via ceramic shell and gravity casting to produce his pieces, that once patinated, are then finished and sealed with a clear wax.

“I love bronze. It’s such a beautiful, everlasting product. It’s forgiving in a way. It welds beautifully and it takes patinas beautifully,” explains Bladen. Picture courtesy of candice@thesocialpost.co.za

Bladen’s wife Rena is also involved with the business and apart from helping with the marketing and general business management side of the business, Rena is also involved with the fine art jewellery being produced at the Kommetjie-based workshop and foundry. The fine art jewellery range is manufactured out of silver and bronze and consists of birds, fish, pansy shells, turtles and even pangolins.

A unique touch included with the packaging for the birds is that of a QR code whereby the receiver of the jewellery can scan the QR code and listen to the bird call of that specific bird. Bladen employs three other people that all have an understanding of the entire process of producing a sculpture – something he maintains is important because not only can he not do all the work himself, but it is empowering for them to be involved in learning new skills and understanding the complete process.

A Karoo Prinia, “I’m fascinated by their busy little lifestyles,” says Bladen

An Orange-breasted sunbird, with intricate detail, almost brings the sculpture to life

The largest sculpture that Bladen has produced to date is of a life-size potato bass that weighs approximately 85 kilograms. His work can be found across the world from Switzerland to the Seychelles, the US as well as galleries across South Africa.

For more information contact Chris Bladen on TEL: +27 83 426 9795 or visit https://www.chrisbladen.com