Mark Dennis Tate Renn (1952–2019) was a British sculptor who created several works of public art, mainly in the English Midlands.
Renn was born in 1952 and trained in Birmingham.[1]
Although primarily known for his sculpture, his first commission, in 1978, was a series of three murals on the gable ends of terraced houses at the eastern end of Heathfield Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, in conjunction with Paula Woof and Steve Field.[2] These murals lasted around 27 years before being overpainted by new murals. In 1982, he painted an internal mural at Frankley Community School, together with Woof and Field.[3] The trio worked as "The Mural Company"[2] and were profiled in a 1982 Central Television documentary, "Round About".[2] In June–July 1984, Field and Renn exhibited on murals, jointly, at Bilston Museum and Art Gallery.[4]
He also spent the early part of his career working on live art events and temporary installations. He was a member of the art groups "BAG" (1974–1977 with Paula Woof and Ian Everard[5]), "Meet the Future" and "Fine Rats International" (1989–1993); he described the latter as "an edgy group of four egomaniac visual artists".[6] His The Fall involved fully-glazed greenhouses being dropped from cranes, underneath Gravelly Hill Interchange ("Spaghetti Junction"), with the timing decided by games of bingo.[7]
Renn, Woof, Field, David Patten and Derek Jones worked jointly as the West Midlands Public Art Collective, which was active circa 1987.[8]
Several of sculptural his works play with parallax, appearing abstract until viewed from a specific angle. One such sculpture is The Darwin GateinShrewsbury, which from a certain angle appears to form a dome, according to Historic England, in "the form of a Saxon helmet with a Norman window... inspired by features of St Mary's Church which was attended by Charles Darwin as a boy".[9] Other examples include Pegasus (1999) at Cork Airport, Ireland,[10] Green Man Walking (2003) at Sanders Park, Bromsgrove, and The Selby Medal (2012) at Selby War Memorial Hospital, Yorkshire.[11]
His other public works include ClinkatStourbridge Junction railway station, Shoal (2008), on the Castle Grange Business Park, Nottinghamshire,[12] Blue Beacon (2009) at the South Wales Police headquarters in Bute Town, Cardiff, Clockwork, outside Jewellery Quarter station, Birmingham, MoontrapatSmethwick Galton Bridge interchange, and "Lost Property Sun" (2010) at Birmingham Snow Hill station.[10]
He collaborated with Mick Thacker on several sculptures, as well as the "Charm Bracelet Pavement Trail", a series of sixteen pavement plaques depicting the local history of the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham.[13][14] The duo also oversaw artworks added during the 1997 restoration of Jubilee House, High Street, Madeley, as well as contributing a weather vane and a sculpture.[15]
Plans for a Renn-Thacker collaborative sculpture at the junction of the A41 road and the M53 motorwayinThe Wirral had to be abandoned after the Highways Agency determined that it could cause distraction to drivers and attract pedestrians onto the roadway.[16] The design had earlier caused controversy due to an inadvertent similarity to To The Skellig, a sculpture in Cahersiveen, County Kerry, Ireland.[17]
Renn worked from a studio in Lee Bank, Birmingham and after that was closed following local government funding cuts,[18] from a studio at his home in Cookley, Worcestershire.[10]
As a side-line, he operated a business, "Big Pan Man", renting out commercial catering equipment.[19]
He died in late 2019,[14] and was survived by his wife, Anna.[19]
| Picture | Work | Location | Date | Type | Material | Dimensions | Designation | Coordinates (With links to map and aerial photo sources) |
Owner | Notes |
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| Handsworth Triptych | Heathfield Road, Handsworth, Birmingham | 1978 (1978) | Mural | Emulsion paint | 52°30′29″N 1°54′18″W / 52.508019°N 1.905020°W / 52.508019; -1.905020 | Set of three murals, depicting African wildlife. Since overpainted.
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| City of a Thousand Trades | Bell Street Passage, Birmingham | 1987 (1987) | Relief |
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Made by the West Midlands Public Art Collective; commissioned by the then West Midlands County Council; lost[8]
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The Darwin Gate | Shrewsbury | 2004 (2004) | Sculpture |
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Depends on parallax.[9]
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| Pegasus | Cork Airport, Ireland | 1999 (1999) | Sculpture | Depends on parallax
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| The Selby Medal | Selby War Memorial hospital, Yorkshire | 2012 (2012) | Sculpture | Depends on parallax[11] Illuminated at night.
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Lost Property Sun | Birmingham Snow Hill | 2010 (2010) | Sculpture | 52°29′05″N 1°54′05″W / 52.4848178°N 1.9013591°W / 52.4848178; -1.9013591 | Transport for West Midlands | Depicts umbrellas; located indoors, on mezzanine level. | |||
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Whistle Blizzard | Birmingham Snow Hill | 2010 (2010) | Sculpture | 52°29′05″N 1°54′05″W / 52.4848178°N 1.9013591°W / 52.4848178; -1.9013591 | Transport for West Midlands | Depicts whistles; located indoors, on mezzanine level.
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Charm Bracelet Pavement Trail | Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham | Sculpture | Bronze | series of sixteen pavement plaques, depicting aspects of local history
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| Clink | Stourbridge Junction station | Sculpture |
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| Shoal | Castle Grange business park, Nottinghamshire | 2008 (2008) | Sculpture | [12]
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Blue Beacon | South Wales Police headquarters, Bute Town, Cardiff | 2009 (2009) | Sculpture | 51°27′51″N 3°10′09″W / 51.464264°N 3.169267°W / 51.464264; -3.169267 | South Wales Police |
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Clockwork | outside Jewellery Quarter station, Birmingham | 2004 (2004) | Sculpture | 52°29′22″N 1°54′46″W / 52.4893721°N 1.9127845°W / 52.4893721; -1.9127845 | Transport for West Midlands | Depicts the workings of a pocket watch.
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Moontrap | Smethwick Galton Bridge interchange | 2003 (2003) | Sculpture | Steel | 52°30′06″N 1°58′50″W / 52.5017024°N 1.9805592°W / 52.5017024; -1.9805592 |
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| The Copernican Gate | Stratford-upon-Avon | 2006 (2006) | Sculpture | Stratford upon Avon District Council | refers to Copernicus
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Night Swimmer | Wolverhampton Swimming & Fitness Centre, Planetary Road, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton | 2004 (2004) | Sculpture |
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52°35′38″N 2°05′33″W / 52.593889°N 2.092409°W / 52.593889; -2.092409 | DC Leisure Management Ltd. | Illuminated at night.
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Gold Star | Morrisons Supermarket, Small Heath, Birmingham | Sculpture | Bronze | 1m | 52°28′22″N 1°51′57″W / 52.472850°N 1.865946°W / 52.472850; -1.865946 | Morrisons Supermarkets | Commemorates BSA.[20]
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| Green Man Walking | Sanders Park, Bromsgrove | 2003 (2003) | Sculpture |
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Depends on parallax
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| Weather vane | Jubilee House, High Street, Madeley | 1997 (1997) | Weather vane | Madeley Town Council |
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| (untitled?) | Jubilee House, High Street, Madeley | 1997 (1997) | Sculpture | Madeley Town Council |
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Padlock | Newhall Hill – Jewellery Quarter | 2000 (2000) | sculpture | Steel | 52°28′57″N 1°54′39″W / 52.482547°N 1.910892°W / 52.482547; -1.910892 | [21]
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Mondobongo | Corner of High Street and Burlington Street in Newtown | Public transport interchange | Steel | 52°29′55″N 1°53′42″W / 52.498694°N 1.895002°W / 52.498694; -1.895002 | Transport for West Midlands |
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An even bigger splash! | Newtown Swimming Pool & Fitness Centre, High Street, Newtown | Public transport interchange | Steel | 52°29′57″N 1°53′46″W / 52.499162°N 1.895976°W / 52.499162; -1.895976 | Transport for West Midlands |
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Talking about the Weather | Field Lane, Bartley Green opposite Romsley Road | 2004 (2004) | Public transport interchange | Steel | 52°26′04″N 2°00′17″W / 52.434333°N 2.004596°W / 52.434333; -2.004596 | West Midlands Network |
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Juggernaut | Victoria Street, Bordesley Green | 2004 (2004) | Public transport interchange | Steel | 52°28′36″N 1°51′23″W / 52.47654°N 1.856401°W / 52.47654; -1.856401 | West Midlands Network |
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| Bat wall | Longbridge railway station | 2013 (2013) | mural | printed vinyl, glued onto steel plates | designed by Renn and Lee Valentine, in collaboration with year 9 students at Turves Green Girls' School[22]
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