Hussein Chayalan

 

An exhibition of leading British contemporary fashion designer Hussein Chayalan's incredible imaginings at the Design Museum, London that I had the opportunity to see  in February 2009. 

 

 

 

Inspiring!

Patterns

A tiled wall in Amsterdam. 

A ceiling in Oxford.

A jar of garden

I have a new little friend in my house: this adorable terrarium made by Lucy Hearn and Lily Daly, from their exhibition Peaches and Keen. If you look closely you can see a little silver Lucy plant keeping the greenery company.

Silversmithing

A slideshow showing the process of raising a teapot and three teacups with integrated tea cosies (in very fast forward). The result, shown in the last two slides, was Blue Raspberry Madeleines, made in 2009 in enameled copper, felted wool, sterling silver, fine silver and gilding metal. The enameling process could have been another whole slideshow!

Making teapots has given me tendinitis a couple of times, so one of the slides shows my ingenious attempts at preventing a re-occurrence by attaching a planishing hammer to my hand with a compression band. This project involved raising nine forms, including a teapot, and I came out unscathed, so between that, exercises and regular coffee breaks, something must have worked!

Colourful Chains

A couple of colourful new chains with graduated links, based on the Urban Landscapes neckpieces

Fruit Loop Bagues

Peaches and Keen's upcoming exhibition has reminded me that I was going to post about Fruit Loop Bagues...

Fruit Loop Bagues was an exhibition of rings at First Site Gallery in 2008 with Nina Oikawa, Lucy Hearn and Nicole Polentas. Together, our colourful work created "a rainbow of rings to brighten up the world...a treasure trove of tasty delights!"

The work was displayed on brightly coloured mini-plinths suspended from the ceiling at varying heights. The air conditioning in the gallery space made them sway slightly in the breeze, adding to the effect of lightness and colour. The overall result was that the installation as a whole became something on its own, more than just a place for displaying the work. A gallery filled with colour!

Mel Miller, "Remember When..." (object with removable ring)

Nina Oikawa, "Placious Rings #1: Bird"

Lucy Hearn, "White Ring, Pink"

Nicole Polentas, "The Place I Lost My Head" (ring with stand)

Fruit Loop Bagues Catalogue, designed by Lily Daley

Peaches and Keen

Lucy Hearn and Lily Daley are holding an exhibition of new works from their new project Peaches and Keen. The show opens at 4 Cremorne Street, Richmond at 6pm Friday 2 September and runs through the weekend only, so be sure to get in quick!

A Jewellery Adventure

New Zealand jeweller Jacqui Chan is holding a unique performance/exhibition in Christchurch entitled Host a Brooch that will be launched tonight. The project is hosted by Christchurch contemporary jewellery gallery The National , which lost its gallery space in the devastating February earthquakes, and is now holding pop-up exhibitions throughout the city.

Jacqui has created a series of brooches made from found detritus of Christchurch and invites the public to "host a brooch on an urban adventure," in a system operating like a bike-sharing system. Jacqui says, "Just as a bicycle transforms our experience of a city - producing new sensory experiences, routes and encounters - jewellery also alters how we encounter a city."

Host a Brooch will take place over the next six weekends in Christchurch. You can read more about the project on InDesign Live. 

Jacqui Chan also has work in the current exhibition Close to Hand at RMIT School of Art Gallery in Melbourne.

images from the Host a Brooch blog

500 Felt Objects

Look what came in the mail! A copy of 500 Felt Objects, featuring my work Object Reminiscent of Things Past, No. 5, an object with a removable wearable brooch exploring the layers of memory, in sterling silver, enameled copper and felted wool. 500 Felt Objects will be on sale everywhere from 6 September.

photo by Jeremy Dillon

Close to Hand

The exhibition Close to Hand, featuring work by RMIT postgraduate students in Gold and Silversmithing and Ceramics, is on now at the RMIT School of Art Gallery.There are whimsical ceramic figures by Robyn Hosking (pictured above) resembling a political cartoon, delicate enameled brooches by Artist in Residence Naoko Inuzuka, a video/brooch installation by Nicole Polentas and more. On until 1 September. 

Output to Paths

Precision meets lyricism in Output to Paths, an exhibition of new works by Simon Cottrell which opened at Gallery Funaki last night. Through unique and complex construction methods Simon creates bold, intricate forms that seem to have many stories to tell. The exhibition runs until 17 September.

Hybridity

Today I went to the second annual Practice as a Site for Enquiry seminar held by RMIT's Gold and Silversmithing and Ceramics departments, which will merge next year. 

This year's topic was Hybridity. A thought-provoking talk by visiting French contemporary jeweller and artist Benjamin Lignel posed questions about the importance of authorship and the outsourcing of production, and original works as opposed to repetition: does uniqueness equate with authenticity? 

Dutch ceramicist Anton Reijnders spoke lyrically about knowing and not knowing, creating a dialogue with works in progress, and the "logic of wonderment," while contemporary Dutch jeweller Manon van Kouswijk presented her jewellery, ceramic and object-based work dealing with the souvenir, tableware, maps and the beaded necklace. Manifesting in diverse ways as a collection of plastic butterflies hand cut from tableware or the intersection of a teacup and a pearl necklace in "Pearl Grey", Manon's disciplined approach is clear throughout her work.

New Zealand Art Historian Damien Skinner stirred the pot presenting some contentious questions about the direction of craft practices. Is there a "third wave" of hybrid popular and community (DIY) craft focusing on the creation of social relations that is replacing traditional skills-based craft created by artist-craftspeople? How do we define ourselves as craftspeople, within our field and the broader fields of art and design? Lively group discussions and a panel session addressed the positions and directions of contemporary craft and notions of hybrid practice.

The seminar was held as part of Craft Victoria's Craft Cubed events throughout August. Benjamin Lignel will be holding a workshop at RMIT next week.

There were two exhibitions opening after the seminar, but those posts will have to wait until tomorrow!