David Harber introduces two new autumn patinas for Bite and Hydra

The sculptural world of David Harber deepens this season with two entirely new bronze patinas, crafted by Creative Director Matilda Howells. Deep Crimson and Charcoal Black arrive as studies in how metal ages in conversation with the natural world, each finish drawn from a distinct geography and mood.

Deep Crimson captures something unmistakably autumnal: the richness of British woodland in decline, fallen leaves scattered across damp earth, that particular warmth of light as it fades through shortened days. Applied to Bite, the studio’s beloved copper sphere, the patina sits across the sculpture’s continuous, curving planes in layered, shifting tones. These textures emerge gradually as the sculpture catches light, revealing themselves anew with each hour and season, a finish that photographs differently in morning mist than in afternoon sun.

Charcoal Black takes a quieter course, drawing its character from the austere landscapes of the Lake District, where mountains meet water and shadow predominates. When applied to Hydra, the tall abstract bronze sculpture with its graceful ascending forms, the charcoal finish brings subdued bronze undertones that shift subtly across the sculptural planes. Light and shadow play across the surface, accentuating the work’s architectural presence and the way its curves command the vertical plane.

Both finishes represent Howells’ method: rather than imposing an aesthetic from without, she observes how place shapes material, how seasons change what we see. The patinas themselves become a form of portraiture, capturing landscape and light as much as they capture bronze. Each finish continues to develop from the moment of installation, deepening and breathing with the elements, ensuring that the sculptures remain alive, ever changing, belonging wholly to their surroundings.

Imagery courtesy of David Harber (@davidharbersculptures).