Sculptor and teacher who studied at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, 1982–6; Middlesex Polytechnic, to gain a Certificate in Education, 1986–7; Royal College of Art, 1987–8, for postgraduate studies in bronze casting; then obtained his master’s degree there, 1989–92. From 1985 he exhibited widely, initially in the South London Art Gallery Sogat 82 Sculpture Show; Hannah Peschar Gallery from 1986; Arts Club, Bryan Kneale’s Choice, 1990; The Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries, 1992; and in 1993 at Isis Gallery, Leigh-on-Sea, in Drawing Towards Sculpture. Cornish gained a large number of residencies and awards, notably Henry Moore Foundation Scholarship, 1989–91, and Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Award, 1992. He was sculptor-in-residence at the Museum of London in 2005.
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Solo shows included Artist of the Day at Angela Flowers, 1994. Held a number of residencies, including Ravensbourne School, 1990, and Ibstock, West Hoathly, 1993, the year he was elected an associate of RBS. Commissions included Reading Town Council, Reading Civic Society sculpture of Francis Kendrick, 1991, and Head of Alberti, sponsored by Olivetti, 1992. Later teaching posts included De Montfort University, 1994, and Royal Academy Schools postgraduate school, 1995. Cornish was one of many young artists who benefited from the Prince of Wales’ patronage, accompanying him on official foreign visits as artist-in-residence. Work done in Kosovo, where Cornish became involved in depicting the effects of modern warfare on a civilian population, was included in the group show About Face at Croydon Clocktower Gallery, 2002. Cornish’s father was the artist and teacher Peter Cornish and his wife Mary Anne Aytoun-Ellis. He lived in Lewes, Sussex.
Text source: 'Artists in Britain Since 1945' by David Buckman (Art Dictionaries Ltd, part of Sansom & Company)
