Daniel Freyne

2021 QEST William Parker Scholar - Metal Art
East Lothian

Daniel is a blacksmith and metalworker with over a ten years’ experience, who describes his work as a modern representation of a timeless craft. After a five-year blacksmithing apprenticeship at Ratho Byres Forge, Edinburgh, he set out on his journeyman, visiting six European countries. Upon qualifying, he enrolled in a Bachelor’s degree at Gothenburg University, to study Fine Art, specialising in Metal Art. During Daniel’s BFA, he had some notable exhibitions, including being represented by Craft Scotland for Collect 2020, ‘Realizing Form’ at Make Hauser & Wirth, Somerset, and he will be participating in Future Heritage at Decorex 2021, curated by Corinne Julius.

The QEST scholarship will enable Daniel to study iron smelting with master smelter Jens Jøgen Olesen in Denmark, and also fund his MFA in Applied Arts and Design, Metal Art, at Gothenburg University. The smelting skills will give him more control over the materials he works with and allow him to create his own iron with the final intention being to create a new series of progressive vessels. The two-year MFA gives Daniel the opportunity to further develop his smelting skills and gives him a platform to articulate the values of using ancient techniques when used in contemporary craft.

My work is a modern representation of a timeless craft. It can be seen as a homage to the foundations of blacksmithing, yet a distinct breakaway from the romanticised notion of what a Smith is and is not.

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