Collect 2012 preview

Friday, 3 February 2012

Double-Walled Bowl (2011) by Thomas Bohle at Sarah Myerscough Fine Art; photo by Kurt Dornig
British craft show Collect returns 11-14 May, when 31 galleries from 11 countries will take over London's Saatchi Gallery. This year will also see ten large-scale installations, commissioned specially for the show, as well as a preview of the Crafts Council's next touring exhibition, Raw Craft. WGSN-homebuildlife profiles some of the exhibitors to look out for.

Blue Sculpture (2011) by Wouter Dam at Joanna Bird
Amsterdam-based ceramicist Wouter Dam creates sculpted abstract compositions out of clay, and uses colour to great effect - often with a chalky midtone finish.

Propagation Project: Cactus (2011) by Junko Mori at Clare Beckat at Adrian Sassoon
Renowned artist and maker Junko Mori takes steel-forging out of its traditionally masculine territory and reinterprets the process with her distinctive use of form. Sculptures which are at once prickly, protective and cocooning are her signature.

Vessel W51 (2011) by Friedemann Buehler at Sarah Mysercough Fine Art
Friedemann Buehler's bleached ashwood vessels both expose and celebrate the grain and flaws inherent to natural wood.

Brooch (2011) by Katy Hackney at Contemporary Applied Arts
Proving once again that jewellery is a rich source of colour, form and material inspiration to the design industry, Katy Hackney's assemblage brooches combine primary brights, geometric forms and a marked white base - a combination that would look equally effective applied to furniture, accessories or lighting.

Lynx lynx (2011) by Benedikt Fischer at Galerie Rob Koudijs
Showing at Galerie Rob Koudijs, Benedikt Fischer's plastic sculptures are notable for their combination of fluid, organic forms with artificial material and etched surface finishing.

Reflection Bowl (2011) by Adi Toch at Contemporary Applied Arts; photo by Simon B Armitt
Designer Adi Toch uses traditional silversmithing techniques to create curious pieces which raise questions about their function. Her work invites the observer to touch and explore her work; for Reflection Bowl, silver plated gilding metal has been allowed to develop a rich, natural patina.

Leuchtfüßig candlestick (2011) by Juliane Schölß at Galerie Rosemarie Jäger; photo by Eva Jünger
Juliane Schölß was one of our exhibitor highlights from Collect 2011, and this year returns at Galerie Rosemarie Jäger with a new collection of beguiling domestic objects that do not, at first glance, reveal their purpose.

Black and Yellow (2011) by Antonino Spoto at WCC-BF Gallery

Also sure to catch your eye are Antonino Spoto's contrast-colour bowls (above), matt-black, asymmetric slab-built porcelain by Sara Flynn, and Kyoko Kumai's stainless steel filament sculptures (both below).

Subscribers can also read our reports from Collect 2011 and its autumn sister show, Origin.

Introvert Junction Vessel (2011) by Sara Flynn at Erskine Hall & Coe Ltd; photo by Ari Espay


Hope (2009) by Kyoko Kumai at Katie Jones