Welcome to the Material Mind
Private view: 24th Apr
Exhibition runs: 24th Apr – 1st May 2014
Location: Gallery & Project space
An exploration of functional sculptural form for the living environment.
Where an idea becomes a flowing line, a shape, a texture. Where the eye is drawn and the hand seduced.
An exhibition presenting the extraordinary work of individual artist-makers sharing the philosophy that furniture has the ability to stimulate and engage far beyond its required utility.
How is the artist able to translate a mere thought, an inspiration and the origin of an abstract expression into a fully realized manifest object where more often than not the resultant piece equates to far more than the sum of its parts would perhaps suggest?
What is it that makes a work truly unique, enthralling and captivating?
Welcome to the material mind – showcasing exceptional sculptural works hewn, shaped and crafted from wood metal and glass, where a synergy of form and function radiates from within. Functional works of art for the way we live tomorrow.
Featuring: David Gates, Alun Heslop – chaircreative, Ian Spencer – Yard Sale Project, Charlie Whinney and Simon Yates.
There will be a series of talks ‘Inside the Material Mind’ presented at the Private View.
David Gates
David Gates designs and makes furniture that has a relationship with architecture. Winner of the Jerwood Award for Contemporary Making 2010 and the Wesley-Barrell prize in 2011, Gates’ London practice draws together a multi-stranded approach to designing and making. His work embraces functional expediency as well as exploring our relationship with the stuff around us.
Alun Heslop – chaircreative
Award winning design artist Alun Heslop of the chaircreative specialises in the design and creation of exceptional sculptural chairs & seating. They encapsulate a timeless elegance and appeal through implementation of good design and appropriate ‘truth to materials’.
chaircreative studio produces large scale site-specific exterior installations for public and private spaces as well as design and creation of seating works and sculptural projects for residential and corporate interiors.
Ian Spencer – Yard Sale Project
Ian Spencer and Cairn Young together make Yard Sale Project. They create one-off and small batch pieces of furniture that combine the unique design skills of Young with the making talents of Spencer. All Yard Sale Project items are made by them in their workshop and studio in South London, aiming to bring together the ‘cool’ of the world of design with the obsessive applied skills of handmade one-offs.
Charlie Whinney
Charlie Whinney’s Design Workshop exists to explore the relationships between materials, people and the environment sometimes finding where beauty and usefulness meet.
Currently all of the design work and much of the planning and making is done by Charlie Whinney, and almost everything is made in the workshop in Beck Head, Cumbria, using locally sourced materials.
Simon Yates
From his studio north of London, Simon Yates makes individual pieces of furniture emphasising structure, balance and the idea of movement and texture. Experimenting with technique and process has allowed Simon to challenge the normal preconceptions about furniture making and has given him a depth of understanding of the material and how far the boundaries can be pushed within his pieces.
