Researching Nick Lamb

Lamb says of his own work, "I work principally in wood, a material expressive of the natural world and living subjects that have always drawn me. Although I do work on a large scale, I am most comfortable carving intricate miniature sculptures that convey the precious quality and fragile existence that wild animals possess. Whether mammals, fish, birds, or insects, I compose my work around graceful unifying lines suggesting the interconnectedness of all life. In part because I am not Japanese, I have been more free to stretch the boundaries of the netsuke art form, which, like many Asian art forms, is highly bound by conventions that evolve minimally over long periods of time. Since 2001, I have been developing stylistically away from the rather traditional forms I have been following. I continue to be influenced by Japanese design, but now investigate different ways in which to apply my personal aesthetic interpretation—my East-West hybrid—to larger format, particularly casting in bronze and stone-carving." Lamb has created larger scale work for Turtle Bay Exploration Park in Redding, California, and the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings, Montana.

The group of non-Japanese netsuke carvers is small but distinguished and includes David Carlin, Clive Hallam, Janel Jacobson, Gerry Milazzo, Lynn Richardson, Leigh Sloggett, Gregg Stradiotto, and Sue Wraight, among others.

Lamb is represented by Stewart-Kummer Gallery in Gualala, California, and shows work at Japanese art venues worldwide. His work has been included in temporary exhibitions in the US and Japan, including the Museum of Arts & Design in New York city, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and the Bowers Museum in California. His work is in many private collections, including that of the Imperial Family of Japan, the Robin Lehman Collection, the Robert O. Kinsey Collection, and the Tokyo National Museum.

Lamb made his debut in county cricket for Hertfordshire in the 2003 MCCA Knockout Trophy against Wales Minor Counties. Later, while studying for his degree at Durham University, Lamb made his first-class debut for Durham UCCE against Leicestershire in 2005. He made seven further first-class appearances for the university, the last of which came against Durham in 2007. In his eight first-class matches for the university, he scored 218 runs at an average of 16.76, with a high score of 62. This score, his only first-class fifty, came against Surrey in 2006. With the ball, he took 16 wickets at a bowling average of 41.31, with best figures of 4/92. While at Durham University, he also played a single first-class match for the British Universities against the touring Sri Lankans. With the ball, he took the wicket of Chamara Kapugedera, while with the bat he was dismissed for a duck in the British Universities first-innings by Malinga Bandara, while in their second-innings he was dismissed by Chaminda Vaas for 2 runs.

He continues to play Minor counties cricket for Hertfordshire, having made to date 27 Minor Counties Championship and 20 MCCA Knockout Trophy appearances. His father, Tim Lamb, played first-class cricket for a number of teams.