David Petersen (born 1944) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, cultural commentator and television presenter based in St. Clears,

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

. He is particularly known for his metal sculptures of

dragons A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

Petersen was born in Cardiff in 1944, the son of Jack Petersen (1911–1990), a

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

who held the British Heavyweight title on two occasions. archived in Petersen worked in the

GKN GKN Ltd is a British multinational automotive and aerospace components business headquartered in Redditch, England. It is a long-running business known for many decades as Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds. It can trace its origins back to 1759 an ...

steelworks in Cardiff before studying fine art at

Newport College of Art The University of Wales, Newport ( cy, Prifysgol Cymru, Casnewydd), was a university based in Newport, South Wales, before the merger that formed the University of South Wales in April 2013. The university had two campuses in Newport, Caerleon ...

(1961–1965). He is an elected member of the

Royal Cambrian Academy The Royal Cambrian Academy of Art (RCA) is a centre of excellence for art in Wales. Its main gallery is located in Conwy and it has over a hundred members. 240px, Plas Mawr, Conwy Early history During the 19th century there were numerous attempts ...

, and has served as chairman of the British Artist Blacksmiths Association. For several years Petersen led the Welsh delegation to the

Festival Interceltique de Lorient __NOTOC__ The (French), Emvod Ar Gelted An Oriant (Breton) or Inter-Celtic Festival of Lorient in English, is an annual Celtic festival, located in the city of Lorient, Brittany, France. It was founded in 1971 by . This annual festival takes ...

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

. He resigned from the festival committee in 2008 in protest at the content of the Welsh pavilion. Petersen's sons Aaron, Toby and Gideon are sculptors who sometimes work collaboratively with their father.

Major works

Mametz Wood Memorial (1987)

The Mametz Wood memorial commemorates an action of the

38th (Welsh) Division The 38th (Welsh) Division (initially the 43rd Division, later the 38th (Welsh) Infantry Division and then the 38th Infantry (Reserve) Division) of the British Army was active during both the First and Second World Wars. In 1914, the division w ...

of the British Army during the

First Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place betw ...

in 1916. The memorial, located on the site of the action in northern France, is of a large red dragon holding

barbed wire A close-up view of a barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is t ...

, mounted on a stone plinth.

Coal, Steel and Water (1989)

A steel sculpture mounted on polished granite located in the foyer of

County Hall, Cardiff The County Hall ( cy, Neuadd y Sir) is a municipal building located beside the disused Bute East Dock in the Atlantic Wharf area of Butetown, Cardiff. Formerly the home of South Glamorgan County Council, it is now the headquarters of Cardiff C ...

. Commissioned by Allied Steel and Wire as a gift to

South Glamorgan County Council South Glamorgan County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir De Morgannwg) was the local government authority that administered the county of South Glamorgan, Wales from its creation in 1974 until its abolition in 1996. History Local government in England and ...

National Millennium Beacon (1999)

Together with his sons, Petersen won a competition to make the National Millennium Beacon for the millennium celebrations. The large

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

sculpture was erected on the porch of

Cardiff City Hall City Hall ( cy, Neuadd y ddinas) is a civic building in Cathays Park, Cardiff, Wales, UK. It serves as Cardiff's centre of local government. It was built as part of the Cathays Park civic centre development and opened in October 1906. Built of ...

Postage stamp (1999)

Petersen designed the definitive issue of the Welsh second class postage stamp, which features a

leek The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...

carved from wood. Petersen's sons Toby and Gideon designed the first class stamp which features a dragon.

Howard Winstone (2001)

A bronze statue of the world champion boxer

Howard Winstone Howard Winstone, MBE (15 April 1939 – 30 September 2000) was a Welsh world champion boxer, born in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. As an amateur, Winstone won the Amateur Boxing Association bantamweight title in 1958, and a Commonwealth Games Gold Med ...

(1939–2000), located in a shopping centre in

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

Television

Petersen is also known as a television presenter on historical and cultural topics. His work includes ''Stop, Look, Listen: Tales from Wales'' (

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

, 2002) and ''When the Romans Came to Wales'' (Channel 4, 2003).

Political activity

Petersen was a

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...

candidate in the 1999 National Assembly election for the Brecon and Radnorshire constituency. He gained 2,356 votes, 8.1% of the overall vote.

External links

* * ''republished in'' * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petersen, David 1944 births Living people 20th-century British sculptors 20th-century Welsh male artists 21st-century British sculptors 21st-century Welsh male artists Artists from Cardiff Welsh male sculptors