Stepping into sculptor Morgan Shimeld’s mid-century-inspired home feels like entering another era—a carefully composed space defined by clean lines and geometric shapes. Perched high up in the rolling Blue Mountains, overlooking sheer cliffs and deep valleys, Morgan’s home—and his studio filled with heavy-duty tools, bronze off-cuts and sculptures in progress—mirror the intentional minimalism of his artistic practice. 

Honing his technique in the three-dimensional space for over twenty-six years, Morgan’s abstract bronze pieces are meditative, grounded and unmistakable. From hand-sculpted trophies and objects for the home to monumental installations and custom furniture pieces designed for SARAH & SEBASTIAN’s Sydney stores, his work skilfully traverses between form and function.

As one of our long-time collaborators, we were thrilled to work with Morgan again as part of our Mark of a Milestone project, inviting him to create a piece inspired by our new brand symbol. Departing from his signature angular, structured forms, he embraced new techniques to craft a more organic and textural piece.

In this interview, we speak to Morgan about his influences, the role of intuition in shaping his creative process, and how he approaches artistry and utility. 

“I love the power and impact that pure form holds, reduced to minimal lines and surfaces. There is something satisfying about creating a form that has been pared back to a minimum with its own stand-alone presence.”

Your sculptures explore Minimalism and Geometric Abstraction, often treading the line between the conceptual and the functional—what fuels your technique and your inspiration?

In terms of technique, my work follows numerous years of experience working in bronze. Whilst developing my own artistic practice, I worked as a fabricator in a bronze art foundry for 16 years. I took the leap from my ‘day job’ as a foundry worker and part-time artist to a full-time artist back in 2014 and I have been a full-time sculptor for over 10 years.

My inspiration comes from many threads, from the artists I admire—the geometric sculptures and paintings of Sol Le Witt, the grand installations of Richard Sera, and the 3D works of Clement Meadmore and Tony Smith—to the natural surroundings of my home in the Blue Mountains.

Minimalism and Geometric Abstraction are central to my practice. I love the power and impact that pure form holds, reduced to minimal lines and surfaces. There is something very satisfying about creating a form that has been pared back to a minimum with its stand-alone presence. A series of my works are constructed from assembled sections, whilst other pieces explore positive and negative space within a unified whole.

Details of 'Reef'

Views of the Blue Mountains near Morgan's studio

The technical precision in your work is remarkable. Tell us about your creative process—what is your starting point for a new sculpture or project and what challenges do you face?

Depending on the size, I usually create models of templates by hand and then trace and hand-cut them into bronze. Larger scale works are drawn up in CAD and laser-cut into template shapes. I then hand fabricate the template pieces out of 3mm phosphor bronze sheets in my studio, grind them, and finish the works.

The technical aspects of my work are an ongoing learning process. I’m constantly finding better and more efficient ways to achieve precision in how they are finished. It’s a very technical journey and I have worked out many of my tricks through trial-and-error.

A big technical step for me was going large scale and incorporating computer technology through CAD drawings and laser cutting to accurately prepare the bronze sections for fabrication.

Morgan Shimeld in his studio

Your work is often described as meditative. Can you elaborate on the role of intuition in your creative process?

When I’m ‘in the zone’ and become immersed in the creative process, it’s akin to meditation; a mindful experience. I work intuitively with the shapes—arranging, assembling, paring back and fine-tuning them to arrive at something that feels right.

I feel my way through the process and I will know when I’ve found a form I can work with. It’s always an exciting and satisfying part of the process when sculpting a maquette that sits well, which I can then begin creating in bronze.

“The technical aspects of my work are an ongoing learning process. I’m constantly finding better and more efficient ways to achieve precision in how they are finished. It’s a very technical journey."

Your practice is based in the Blue Mountains surrounded by nature—how does this environment inform your approach to creation?

I live and work in the Blue Mountains on Dharug and Gundungurra land. My studio overlooks the breathtaking Narrow Neck plateau and the expansive Megalong Valley. The sheer cliff faces and escarpments of the surrounding World Heritage National Park offer unique and stunning contemplation material for my work and I can’t help but be inspired and influenced by these surroundings.

How do you see the relationship between your sculptures and the spaces they inhabit? 

My sculptures speak to their environment in unique ways. Smaller-scaled pieces work well in lived spaces. They don’t require plinths for display and often inhabit countertops, side tables, shelves or even the floor, seamlessly integrating into their spaces as objects in everyday settings.

My larger-scaled pieces have more of a permanent style of placement. Often installed with custom footing or on an integrated base, they command a greater presence and create more impact, becoming integral to the interior architecture. 

Geometric works in Morgan's studio

Collaboration is a recurring theme in your commissions. How do you approach working with other creatives and clients?

Collaboration always brings a different perspective, which inspires new and innovative ways to approach my materials and processes.

For example, when creating the bronze stools and bench for Sarah & Sebastian’s stores, I had to incorporate a flat top to ensure it could function as a form of seating. This gave me a new design purpose and allowed me to explore a different kind of form and functionality within my artistic style.

“I work intuitively with shapes—arranging, assembling, paring back and fine-tuning them to arrive at something that feels right.”

While your work is architectural in form, our new symbol is highly organic in nature—how did you approach this juxtaposition and interpret our artist brief for this collaboration? 

Sarah & Sebastian’s jewellery breaks new ground in conceptual design and craftsmanship. I also strive for these qualities in my sculptural practice, so this collaboration felt completely natural.

For the particular piece inspired by the brand’s new symbol, I wanted to take a step away from my usual process to achieve a more organic texture and form. The tactile finish on the outer edges of the sculpture draws inspiration from the irregular surfaces of coral, and the wave-like channel running through the centre of the piece is reminiscent of kelp floating in the ocean currents. This channel is a hallmark of my oeuvre of work called Passage, where negative space is crafted into each piece.

Using the same contemplative creative process as I do with all of my work, I first hand-carved this model from wax, giving the work a uniquely handmade feel. Using the traditional lost wax casting method, the model was then cast in a bronze casting foundry. It’s a different technical process from the welded sheet bronze technique I employ for most of my works, including the bench and stools for Sarah & Sebastian, enabling a more curved and textured result.

What are you most looking forward to, professionally and personally for the rest of this year? 

The project I’m most looking forward to for the rest of this year and the start of next year is a functional bronze-work collaboration with a high-profile development in Sydney. I also have other functional collaborations in the pipeline, which feels like an exciting direction for my sculptural work.