Shepparton sculptor Mark Niglia with his winning creation.
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Trades and arts can often be worlds apart, but in Mark Niglia’s, the two come together to create a fusion of talent that delivers his unique metal horse sculptures some of the loudest gongs.
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The latest in the string of accolades for the Shepparton’s artist’s equine pieces is a first-place title for the life-sized Duchess at last month’s Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show.
Niglia, whose father began to teach him to weld when he was 10 years old, has always leaned towards the artistic side of the welding trade he went on to become formally qualified in.
He’s been sculpting since he was a child and said he found it an expressive outlet of emotion.
“When I make sculptures, it’s always something to do with what’s going on in the world or in my head at the time,” Niglia said.
He sculpted his first horse from mild steel about seven years ago and estimates he’s created around 20 of the majestic beasts since.
Sometimes, he crafts them and then offers them for sale.
But these days, Niglia mostly makes them when he’s commissioned to.
Shepparton artist Mark Niglia’s Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2025 winning sculpture of a life-sized horse, named Duchess.
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He said it could be hard to keep up with demand, with each taking an average of 100 hours to bring to life.
Niglia’s artwork is spread across Australia, including a couple on the Woolloomooloo wharf, one at a Hunter Valley roadside gallery and one at a Hanging Rock winery.
One was purchased by a Gippsland art collector and bushfire survivor who resonated with what the steel and charred wood creation symbolised.
“Phoenix represented the strength and resilience of the human spirit in the aftermath of raging fires and destruction,” Niglia said.
“He was a symbol of hope and the will to live.”
His artworks have also crossed oceans to New Zealand and Dubai, the latter on commission by the emirate’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
The popularity of his pieces are an ongoing reward for his work; however, he enjoys the validation through prizes awarded by his industry’s judges, peers and enthusiasts, who have also placed him top of the field with people’s choice awards in the past.
While the busy father-of-three can often find himself time-poor, he enters shows such as the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show whenever he can.
With his latest first-place win, the effort to do so has paid off.
