Tag Archives: Goldsmiths’ Centre

Art Medals!

Celebrating Eighty: Art in the Hand, The Goldsmiths’ Centre, 42 Britton Street, London EC1, until 20th April 2017

Stephanie Holt, Weight of the World,
Winner of the Grand First Prize
© Photography Stephen Dodd, British Museum

The British Art Medal Society’s 24th Student Medal Project seeks to keep the art of bronze casting alive and well.  This year’s delightfully engaging exhibition combines eighty contemporary art medals by students from UK art colleges with work by the renowned Iranian artist Parviz Tanavoli and some of his former students who are marking his 80th birthday.

Parviz Tanavoli, Hand on Hand
© Photography Stephen Dodd, British Museum

The noted goldsmith, sculptor and medal maker Julian Cross sums it up well saying: “The medal, as object, with all its constraints, can act like a half open door. We, the viewers, are on one side looking through the opening. But the artist has a job to do on the other side, to engage, communicate and express. The narrower the gap in the door makes the artist rise all the more to the challenge, working harder and smarter to be seen and heard. This is when the art medal comes into its element; it can be a highly charged object, beautiful or ugly, it can appear to be as soft as watercolours, as sad as a lock of hair, as violent as an explosion, as political as a revolution, it can sing, shout, whisper, cry and laugh.” 

I Count Goats, Linda Crook, 2008.
Photography Stephen Dodd, British Museum

www.goldsmiths-centre.org/whats-on

Shine 2016

Shine 2016, The Goldsmiths’ Centre, 42 Britton St. EC1, until 19th December 2016

Rebecca Wilkes, Floral Focus, 3D printed customisable blooms hand finished, 2016 © Emilia Romagnani-Onida

Rebecca Wilkes,
Floral Focus, 3D printed customisable blooms hand finished, 2016
© Emilia Romagnani-Onida

I always like to draw your attention to events where emerging and new talent in the field of jewellery and metalworking are on display and available to buy or even commission. Shine 2016 at Clerkenwell’s Goldsmiths’ Centre fits the brief perfectly as there are thirty-seven participants who are learning to start their own businesses through the Centre’s Setting Out and Getting Started course.

Emily Bedford, one of this year’s ‘class’, sums it up saying: “Setting Out has completely and utterly changed everything for me and my business. I was quite rudderless when I started the programme, but I now have a concrete plan and feel excited about re-launching my business.”

Ana Thompson, Setting Out 2016, The Macro_World, Sedna Collection, 2016 © Colin Crisford, The Goldsmiths’ Centre

Ana Thompson, Setting Out 2016,
The Macro_World, Sedna Collection, 2016
© Colin Crisford, The Goldsmiths’ Centre

http://www.goldsmiths-centre.org

The Art of Enamelling – a Celebration

ENAMOURED, The Atrium, The Goldsmiths’ Centre, 42 Britton Street, Clerkenwell, London EC1, until 18th November 2016

Vase adieu. Flower vase. Standard silver and transparent enamel. Year made: 2016. Designed and made by: collaboration between London based enameller Frances Loyen and silversmith Hector Miller Size: Ht. 33cm Width at base 11cm Photo credit: - Rosalind Miller

Vase adieu. Flower vase. Standard silver and transparent enamel.
Year made: 2016.
Designed and made by: collaboration between London based enameller Frances Loyen and silversmith Hector Miller
Size: Ht. 33cm Width at base 11cm
Photo credit: – Rosalind Miller

Organised by The British Society of Enamellers this exhibition celebrates the work of both their established members and new graduates.  The technique of enamelling has a long history dating back as far as the 16th century BC and one can quite understand its enduring appeal through the ages because the transformation from powdered glass (frit) applied to a metal surface to form a vibrant, hard colourful surface is achieved in the kiln at high temperature.

Evangeline Long Three Dimensional Object Title “Barn”, 2016 Enamel on corrugated copper - balsa wood frame Sifted Jewellery Enamel -firescale - high fired Dim : H 20cm X D11cm. X W14cm Photo : Tracey Sherwood

Evangeline Long
Three Dimensional Object Title “Barn”, 2016
Enamel on corrugated copper – balsa wood frame
Sifted Jewellery Enamel -firescale – high fired
Dim : H 20cm X D11cm. X W14cm
Photo : Tracey Sherwood

Traditional techniques such as Basse-Taille, Champlevé, Cloisonné and Plique à Jour are still used today but nowadays it can also be industrially applied. While we may usually associate the technique with jewellery or precious object such as those created by Fabergé it can also be applied to metals such as copper, cast iron and stainless steel.

This is a wonderful celebration of this fascinating and enduring technique.

Joan Mackarell: Celtic perfume bottle Silver, enamel, up-cycled glass bottle 8 x 10 cms Cloisonné Joan finds the old bottles in antique shops and then designs and makes new tops in silver and enamel which are inspired by the bottle shapes.

Joan Mackarell:
Celtic perfume bottle
Silver, enamel, up-cycled glass bottle 8 x 10 cms
Cloisonné
Joan finds the old bottles in antique shops and then designs and makes new tops in silver and enamel which are inspired by the bottle shapes.

 

 

www.goldsmiths-centre.org/whats-on