bruce metcalf
Work feels like a curation of objects. Self-described as “a diary and a collection of souvenirs”. Contrasting familiar shapes of everyday objects with more whimsical and surreal objects. Alludes to a mysterious character whom these collections of objects tell the story of.
TAKE - AWAYS : WHIMSY/FANTASY , CURATION OF OBJECTS , EXPLORATION OF SHAPE/FORM/TEXTURE , EVERYDAY CONTRASTED WITH SURREALISM
bram bogart
‘Paint as a physical matter’ - pushing material possibilities to create a sculptural outcome from a two-dimensional medium. Transition into three dimensional objects shows a similar approach. Applying a painterly attention to a conventional three-dimensional object transition the everyday into the unusual.
TAKE-AWAYS : SCULPTURAL QUALITY OF THE EVERY-DAY , TESTING CONVENTIONS OF A MEDIUM/MATERIAL , SUBVERTING CONVENTIONS OF EVERYDAY OBJECTS , PLAY W/FORM AND TEXTURE
sheila hicks
Textiles as a common language. Utility of textiles has led to a diverse global network of culturally rooted production methods / skills. Heavily influenced by colour and colour theory. Utilises different techniques and the tactile nature of textiles to explore form and texture. Lots of repetition of form, process, material, technique - used as a tool to add gravity to work and provoke contemplativeness. Also blows out the scale of objects and installations - filling up large spaces with textile objects - playfully defies the conventions of textiles as utility / manufacturable to create these oversized and assertive objects.
TAKE - AWAYS : REPETITION , CHALLENGING CONVENTIONS OF UTILITY , PLAY W/FORM AND TEXTURE , CRAFT HERITAGE , CULTURAL/HISTORICAL LANGUAGE OF A MATERIAL/DISCIPLINE
serena holm
Actively seeks out weird and unusual objects to bring together with more conventional jewellery materials like precious metals to create these material curations which tell strange, dark and whimsical stories. Creating a visual and tactile journal of people through the objects they once possessed.
TAKE - AWAYS : OBJECTS TELL A STORY OF PEOPLE , FOUND OBJECTS AS A MATERIAL LIBRARY , MIXING HIGH/TRADITIONAL AND LOW/NON-TRADITIONAL MATERIALS , MATERIAL CURATION/COLLECTION AS A STORYTELLING DEVICE
katie stout
References the historical legacy of decorative arts as a female-dominated industry / discipline. This approach means decoration is of higher priority to function which questions the conventions of traditional utilitarian and luxury objects through form, material choice, finish, scale etc.
TAKE - AWAYS : WOMEN AND CRAFT , QUESTIONING CONVENTIONS OF UTILITY , TRADITIONAL MATERIALS/PROCESSES IN NON-CONVENTIONAL APPLICATIONS , CROSS-DISCIPLINARY , PLAYFUL , WHIMSY , HUMOUR
chen chen and kai williams
Unconventional use of materials, applying waste materials and found materials to a luxury furniture context questions the traditional conventions of the discipline and subverts the existing ideas of what materials are suitable for what applications. Applying traditional craft processes to modern/non-traditional materials.
TAKE - AWAYS : QUESTIONING MATERIAL CONVENTIONS , UTILISING WASTE / FOUND MATERIALS , FUSING TRADITIONAL PROCESSES WITH MODERN MATERIALS
julia olanders
Taking non-traditional building materials, which are typically seen as unsightly and something to be covered-up, and applying them to a decorative context. Questioning how we value materials.
TAKE - AWAYS : SUBVERTING TRADITIONAL ATTITUDES TO CRAFT MATERIALS , PLAYING WITH CONVENTIONAL FORMS, MIX AND MATCH APPROACH TO MATERIALS
takuro kuwata
Looking at traditional craft processes / techniques / valued aesthetics and applying them to a modern context. Very experimental both on a technical level concerning glaze chemistry as well as through exploration of form, colour, texture. Repetition, series and collections of work are key to the communication of creative process and play with reoccurring forms, colours and textures throughout a body of work.
TAKE - AWAYS : TEXTURE , SURFACE , COLOUR , MODERN APPLICATION OF TRADITIONAL PROCESSES , EXPERIMENTATION , PLAYFUL , REPETITION / SERIES , TRADITIONAL AESTHETICS MEET MODERN TASTES
steven sales
Working with foraged clay and waste ceramic materials. Uses traditional processes and techniques to experiment with materials with unknown qualities and behaviours. Colour is dictated by the foraged/waste material palette yet still manages to be playful and experimental.
TAKE - AWAYS : PRACTICE LED BY EXPERIMENTATION , FORAGING MATERIALS , EXPERIMENTING WITH STUDIO WASTE , USING TRADITIONAL PROCESSES TO GUIDE MATERIAL EXPLORATION
dean coates
Utilising studio waste, very experimental process, layering slips and glazes, utilising glaze chips, frits, rocks and glass. Process is led by the availability of waste and forgeable / collectable materials which reinforces the need for experimentation.
TAKE - AWAYS : LAYERING , UTILISING WASTE MATERIALS , LIMITATION FORCES EXPERIMENTATION , SURFACE , TEXTURE , FINISH