Grant McCaig (b.1974) is one of the UK’s most respected contemporary silversmiths, celebrated for work that combines technical mastery, sculptural presence and a deeply expressive understanding of silver as a material.
A graduate of Glasgow School of Art, where he received First Class Honours in Jewellery and Silversmithing in 1998, McCaig later completed an MA in Goldsmithing, Silversmithing, Metalwork and Jewellery at the Royal College of Art in 2011, supported by both a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust Award and the Windle Charitable Trust.
McCaig’s practice spans both silversmithing and jewellery, exploring the relationship between functionality, movement and sculptural form. His vessels and objects are rooted in the traditions of hand raising and forging, yet are continually reinterpreted through a contemporary lens. Hammered and pleated surfaces catch and manipulate light with remarkable vitality, while crisp edges and fluid curves reveal his fascination with the physical and expressive possibilities of metal. Whether creating ceremonial silver, domestic vessels or wearable forms, McCaig approaches silver as a living material capable of both precision and spontaneity.
His work often explores contrasts between utility and abstraction, softness and structure, weight and movement. Despite the technical complexity behind each piece, there is an immediacy and honesty to the work that reflects the hand of the maker. McCaig’s objects invite use and interaction, continuing the silversmithing tradition while expanding its contemporary relevance.
Alongside his studio practice, McCaig has played an important role in contemporary craft education for over two decades. He worked as a lecturer at Edinburgh College of Art alongside Professor Dorothy Hogg MBE before joining the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham in 2013, where he became Senior Lecturer in Silversmithing, Goldsmithing and Jewellery. He has also taught and lectured internationally, including specialist silversmithing programmes in Bogotá, Colombia, and has mentored emerging makers through initiatives such as the Crafts Council’s Hothouse programme and the Incorporation of Goldsmiths of Edinburgh awards. His commitment to teaching and knowledge-sharing has made him an influential figure within contemporary metalwork education in Britain.
McCaig’s work is held in major public and private collections including National Museums Scotland, The Goldsmiths’ Company Collection, Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, Aberdeen Art Gallery, the Bute House Collection and the Incorporation of Goldsmiths of Edinburgh.
Working in silver is inspiring and creative, technical and expressive. Using the traditional techniques of the silversmith as my foundation, I build pieces that explore the relationship between functionality and self-expression. I want my work to be individual in design and concept and give pleasure to the user. There is something magical about silver. When it arrives in the brown paper and cardboard packaging, which is promptly unwrapped and examined, a voyage of discovery begins. I have never once looked at a sheet of silver and thought nothing of it. My mind skips to the possibilities and the ideas that I originally purchased the metal for tend to pale in the face of the endless possibilities that lie before me. Soft and rounded, or crisp with sharp edges and plain bold surfaces. Silver, you will find, can do it all. – Grant McCaig
