Craft in All Corners of the World
by Issey Scott
Keeping abreast with trends in the world of craft is something we love to do, especially when this means that we can see what galleries, museums and collections around the world are creating and curating. Shows in ceramics, jewellery, functional design and other craft objects can be found across the international art and design scene, but often get less coverage than their fine art counterparts. Now that global travel is on pause, follow me as I do a whistle-stop tour of some fascinating craft hotspots around the world.
Patrick Nash for Cluster Crafts x London Craft Week | Visit artist profile here
“Fragile Earth” Series by Lynne Speake | Read interview with artist here
A personal pick is Galleri Format in one of my favourite cities, Oslo in Norway. The gallery is renowned for its specialism in craft and is a leader in raising the profile of contemporary Norwegian craft to an international market. With their physical base strongly resembling a commercial fine art gallery, we can see how the boundaries of craft and sculpture are blurred. For instance in 2019 they hosted a small scale but stunning exhibition of work by Pia Antonsen Rognes, whose cheeky and brash sculptures comprised of textile materials are both compelling and mildly repulsive. The artist creates emotional experiences due to the scale and analogous element to her practice. Galleri Format are keen to challenge preconceived notions within the world of art and craft, and this is certainly done well with Antonsen Rognes, and it makes me think about how craft is usually non-intrusive and made to please, rather than to poke fun at us and challenge our thinking. This is no bad thing; we could, instead, think about craft as benign, friendly objects.
Pia Antonsen Rogne
Alistair Byars
The deeply pigmented black jesmonite possesses a stunningly rich, charred wood aesthetic; in the times of despair that we currently find ourselves in, the minimalism presented in the designer’s series ‘The Eternal Opening’ moves the viewer with its sombre, monument style. Its floor lamp, in which a black base sits below a glowing ball of light, is truly mesmerising. He has worked with Faye Toogood already, so we can expect big things from this young designer.
For something a little different I visited the online showcase at Glasgow School of Art; with the art school’s premises shut, the degree shows have controversially been moved online, but this does mean that we can all have a look at graduating students’ work! After exploring functional design in my previous Cluster article, I thought I’d start at the Product Design Engineering degree show and was immediately struck by the work of Alistair Byars.
Crossing the Atlantic, New York’s rather unimaginatively titled Museum of Arts and Design is (when open in ordinary time) bursting with art and design in a range of different media. When it first opened in 1956, it was called Museum of Contemporary Crafts, so its special commitment to craft is evident and entrenched in its ethos. Their current exhibition is ‘45 Stories in Jewelry: 1947 to Now’, but what really caught my eye was an appealing upcoming show, a solo exhibition of work by Wisconsin-based designer Beth Lipman. Themes found in her work include mortality, excess, temporality and identity; all things we are currently meditating on. She works in glass and metal, creating extravagant installations with intricate pieces. An opening date for the show, ‘Collective Elegy’, is unannounced for now, but whether we access it virtually or in person, it is definitely something to look out for!
Beth Lipman
My fourth and final stop on this instalment of my global craft trail is the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington DC, which was a highlight of my time in the city a few years ago. As of last spring they have an exciting new permanent collection called ‘Contemporary Craft’, showcasing a range of objects across a broad spectrum of craft. Functional objects in a museum seem to blur the line between functional design and sculpture, but I suppose the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s exhibit is more a survey of different tastes than anything else.
Debra Baxter
Keep your eyes peeled on future articles to get a glimpse of the global craft scene without leaving your home!
Thank you for reading,
Issey Scott