Like pretty much everything at the moment, the Collect 2021 craft fair – now in its 17th year, has gone digital. We may not be able to pore over stunning works of contemporary craft from a buzzing London space, but for the month of March we can do it virtually, via the online art platform Artsy.net.
At Collect, galleries from around the globe come together to display fine craft pieces from artists working with ceramics, glass, wood, textile and an array of found materials. Whether you’re looking to invest in some high end craft or simply want to marvel at some breathtakingly beautiful objects, there is plenty to get you inspired. Works are available for sale until Weds 24th March.
Max Bainbridge, Sarah Myerscough Gallery
Max Bainbridge is a sculptor specialising in sustainable and reclaimed wood. His work is represented by Sarah Myerscough Gallery which is situated in an old boathouse on the river in Barnes, London. Hollowed Vessel (2021) is made from spalted beech (beech wood that has been coloured by fungal decay) and forms part of the gallery’s exhibit Broken Beauty. Max is one half of Forest + Found, an East London based workshop co-founded with textile artist Abigail Booth who is exhibiting with jaggedart.
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Helen O’Shea, Ting-Ying Gallery
Twin (2020) by Irish artist Helen O’Shea is part of a series of works made from foraged ocean plastic. Using textile techniques and plastic materials she finds washed up on the beach, she forms creations that resemble sea creatures. Her work creates a tension between aesthetic beauty and the horror of the waste plastic that litters the oceans. Her work is represented by Ting-Ying gallery. Photo by Roland Paschhoff.
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Maria Sigma, Design Nation
Hydra (2020) by Maria Sigma is crafted from 100% pure undyed British wool using traditional hand-weaving techniques. Maria’s contemporary minimal textile artworks are informed by a zero waste philosophy and sustainable practice, that draws attention to the raw quality of the materials. Maria Sigma is represented by Design Nation, a portfolio of acclaimed craftspeople from around the UK.
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Kazuhito Takadoi, jaggedart
Kazuhito Takadoi trained in horticulture in Japan. Now based in the UK, he creates works from twigs, branches and grasses found in his back garden. Shintou (Osmosis) (2020) is made from Hawthorn twigs tied together with black and white linen twine. The shadows created are key to Kazuhito’s work, which continuously change depending on the orientation of the light. His work can be found at London’s jaggedart gallery. Photo by the artist, courtesy of jaggedart.
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Liang Wanying, Ting-Ying Gallery
This is the ceramic series Woman as Vessel (2020) by Liang Wanying represented by Ting-Ying Gallery. After studying fine art in Beijing, she moved to America to study ceramics. Talking to Timid Magazine, she explains how making repeating natural elements in clay has become a way of digesting and processing thoughts and emotions. She says,
‘When I am working with clay, I can feel relief from the burden of all of these heavy emotions. The emotions that I cannot understand become decorations and the details in my work. Making these endless decorative details is how I deal with my feelings and how I communicate with others about my unsolved confusions. The more complicated emotions I have, the more decorative details I will create.’
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Kristina Riska, Hostler Burrows
Kristina Riska is a renowned Finnish artist who has been making large scale ceramic sculpture since the 1980s. Harmony of Growth (2019) is over 132cm tall making it monumental in scale, whilst having a seemingly delicate quality. This piece is represented by the New York/Los Angeles gallery Hostler Burrows which specialises in 20th-century and Nordic design. Photo by Chikako Harada, courtesy of Hostler Burrows.
Collect 2021 runs until March 24th on Artsy.net
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See also a previous article on contemporary sculpture at Collect 2018
