Summary
The Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum welcomes the Mach brothers joint art exhibition
The Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum welcomes the Mach brothers’ joint exhibition to celebrate its 150th anniversary.
David and Robert Mach have combined their unique artistic mediums in their first joint exhibition: MACH2. It will run from the 24 January to 7 April 2024.
The brothers made the featured art pieces specifically for this show.
David Mach uses dressmaking pins to create intricate sculptures and portraits, from the Mona Lisa to a bust of Queen Elizabeth II. The sculptures are made from styrofoam, where thousands of tiny pins cover the surface. The detail was captivating. The most minute of details, like the individual folds in the fabric of the Queen’s crown, were expertly crafted.
In 2004, he was given the title of Professor of Inspiration and Discovery at the University of Dundee.
Robert Mach depicts famous artists such as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Jeff Koons, by using foil wrappers. These include Quality Street, Tunnock’s Tea Cakes, Lindt Lindor and more. Other pieces were abstract but still followed the artist’s creative materials. His artworks were a collage of unlikely materials that drew you in, leaving you mesmerised.
Other artworks of his have been displayed at London’s Royal Academy of Arts.
However, the most notable piece is the Easy Tiger sculpture. This 2.4 metre long sculpture is covered by wrappers from Tunnock’s Tea Cakes, Viscount biscuits and Marks & Spencer Tea Cakes. It immediately draws your eyes to it, a very impressive sculpture that clearly took great skill and effort from both brothers to construct it.
The tiger is now a permanent exhibit in Gallery 1.
150 Years of Art and History
This collaboration of two brothers and their distinctive artistic mediums is the perfect way to celebrate Stirling Smith’s 150th anniversary. The Museum & Art Gallery itself host a collection of eclectic artefacts. A propeller from the Barnwell brothers’ first flight, vintage radios and an array of whale bones are just a few examples.
An exhibition of collages, portraits, paintings, and sculptures using such unusual styles, perfectly describes the Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum.
Their artworks bring value to the everyday. Things that we see as mundane parts of life, like a Tunnock’s Tea Cake during a break at work, are essential for culture and history.
In the museum, axe heads and bowls are kept in display cases. Once parts of day to day life, now draw in and fascinate the people of today. Just as I am sure these artworks will years from now.
Featured Image Credit: Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum Facebook
Third year journalism student. 2025/2026 Lifestyle and Comment Editor at Brig. Published in The Yucatán Times, Mi Campeche and The Mourning Paper. Host of From the 40s with Air3Radio.
