The Quiet Revolution of Wooden Automata Peter Markey (1930–2016) occupied a singular space in the landscape of British art, a creator who breathed life into the inanimate through the delicate marriage of mechanics and whimsy. While many of his contemporaries sought to capture the world through static pigment, Markey looked toward movement, becoming renowned for his charming automata, kinetic sculptures, and mesmerizing wave machines.…