A CABINET OF CURIOSITIES - Part of London Craft Week

A CABINET OF CURIOSITIES - Part of London Craft Week

26 April - 20 May 2017

Cabinets of curiosities were encyclopaedic collections of objects - the forerunner of museum collections.

The cabinet of curiosity was seen as a microcosm, a theatre of the world and was often a wonderfully eclectic range objects.

For London Craft Week, jaggedart will display its own cabinet of curiosities, a wonderful selection of diverse works of art including:

Laura Ellen Bacon’s intriguing willow pieces emerge from dry stonewalls, trees, riverbanks and hedges, allowing the chosen structures to become host to these embracing shapes. Sensual, curvaceous, Laura moulds and forms the pieces with her hands, whether small and intimate works or immense installations. Her installations are almost always built on site and have inhabited the facades and grounds of the Holburne Museum; Chatsworth; Somerset House, the Saatchi Gallery and the New Art Centre at Roche Court, amongst others.

Lucas Ferreira‘s works are made from small hand crafted fragments of ceramic. Flat rectangles or triangular forms are joined or arranged together, becoming almost like textiles or imaginary landscapes. Each fragment, the same size and shape, one next to the other, almost sewn together, accumulated to form sequences, rhythms, which are then altered by the inclusion of black pieces. “My work is inspired by geological formations. I enjoy crafting minimalist textured studies inspired by how rocky surfaces are reshaped over time.”

Innumerable porcelain vessels give shape to Alison Gautrey’s installation in grey, black and white, with lines or spontaneous splashes of colour. Her unique, translucent egg-shell bowls capture the feeling of movement within the simplicity of form. Alison has recently been experimenting with combining bone china and porcelain together in the same piece, exploiting the inevitable distortions that occur.

Jane Goodwin’s fabulous piece explores the sculptural qualities of chairs and their perceived personalities. While viewed in everyday environments, some chairs are taken for granted; the very clever and beautiful may be significant and enduring. Jane describes chairs as usable sculptures; it is impossible to lose sight of the fact that their common purpose is to support people whilst sitting. Here the chair is deprived of its function; it is embraced, engulfed, swallowed by this body. This is reinforced by the animal print upholstery, playing with notions of sensuality, sex and wild instincts, embracing Jane’s sense of humour and mischief.

Juliet and Jamie Gutch's mobiles are created from different undulating leaves of wood. The different elements of each sculpture are in perfect balance, they glance past each other, always intending to, but never touching. The movements are slow, the shadows ever changing and mesmerising. Juliet and Jamie Gutch have completed a large-scale installation for John Lewis at Westfield, London. They have also been commissioned for "A Murmuration of Starlings", for the reception atrium of the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital.

Charlotte Hodes’s practice as an artist takes the form of painting, collage, ceramics and glass. With a touch of humour, lightness and freshness, Charlotte's female signature figure moves comfortably across dishes, canvases, vases, prints and paper. She appropriates every media with confidence. Her narrative is unique, regardless of the support that she chooses to use. The new pieces shown have been made whilst Charlotte was a Guest Artist-in-Residence at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia. Charlotte’s solo show, Remember Me, will open at the Wolverhampton Art Gallery on 3 June. View a short film about the exhibition here.

Emily Kidson’s intriguing and intricate brooches are small and intimate art works. Each side of the piece is important, one to be looked and admired, the other only a secret for its owner. Her layered, intuitively designed jewels marry bold materials with traditional craftsmanship. Nature, art and architecture are particular influences, and her eye for detail informs the minimal, subtly layered aesthetic of her work. Emily combines modern materials with traditional jewellery and silversmith techniques. The pieces display silver details, inlay, wood and resin alongside boldly coloured laminate work she has become known for. Sensitive use of colour is central to the work. She always makes her colour choices carefully, aiming to be restrained even when bold. Her work is subtle, neat and playful.

Jeremy May transforms reclaimed books into unique pieces of jewellery carefully cut from the pages of the book. The layers of text and images are visible through the lacquered surface of each piece, which is nestled in the space in the book from whence it came. Jeremy trawls through book markets on his travels; each book chosen has a history; it was bought, read, written on, sold on or given as a gift. In time, it was passed on to a street vendor, a second hand bookshop, or offered to Jeremy. Often geometric in shape, the form and colour of each piece is inspired by a specific quote from each respective book.

Porcelain, wood and silver are exquisitely combined in Valéria Nascimento‘s spectacular collection of rings, brooches and necklaces. Often working in large scale porcelain installations, these unique and intimate pieces are presented in a porcelain base, so they become an artwork when not worn. Attention to detail, knowledge of materials and passionate craftsmanship come together in these elegant yet dramatic pieces, which echo shapes and forms from the natural world, inspired by her native Brazil.

Lara Scobie’s ceramic vessels stand tall, tilted or oblique. The theme of balance is constant, significantly underlining her work in which ideas of dynamic interplay between form and surface. By integrating drawing, surface mark making and volume, Lara plays with the balance of space and pattern alongside hue and texture on both the decorated and void surface areas. For her it is the balance between composition and form, absence and presence, that offers some of the most exciting opportunities for expressing her creative voice.

Red and green grasses are embroidered into Japanese handmade paper, delicately coloured with gold leaf and sumi ink. The rich woodland of his birthplace inspires Kazuhito Takadoi to grow and hand pick grasses and twigs from his garden and allotment, sowing each blade through the paper, creating organic three-dimensional opulent yet minimal shapes. Shadows are an important dimension to his pieces: “As the light changes or the point of view is moved, so the shadows will create a new perspective.”

Red and green grasses are embroidered into Japanese handmade paper, delicately coloured with gold leaf and sumi ink. The rich woodland of his birthplace inspires Kazuhito Takadoi to grow and hand pick grasses and twigs from his garden and allotment, sowing each blade through the paper, creating organic three-dimensional opulent yet minimal shapes. Shadows are an important dimension to his pieces: “As the light changes or the point of view is moved, so the shadows will create a new perspective.”

Jude Tucker's stone sculptures depict organic shapes that celebrate the ephemeral beauty of nature, translating them into an immutable form. Jude masters the alabaster, painstakingly chiseling it, turning it into a translucent and wafer-like form.

Korean ceramic artist, Park Sung Wook has interpreted 16th-century Korean two-eared teacup in a contemporary way. This footed cup with two handles is usually used for ritual ceremonies and is regarded highly for its sculptural quality. Traditionally made in porcelain, Park has recreated it in earthenware pottery ‘buncheong’ technique, the grayish white slip with his signature modern twist. Park appropriates this cup and creates different shapes for its handles, from wings to oversized ears that make them unique and individual. His work has been shown at major ceramics events in his native country and across China. Park has also held a major solo exhibition tracing 15 years of a much-celebrated career. The V&A museum has recently acquired teacups for their collection.