I do enjoy the annual festival of contemporary craft which is Collect, organised by The Crafts Council. Galleries from all over the world present a fascinating range of artists’ work and, since I was lucky enough to go to the VIP preview, you can talk to the artists and craftsmen and women about their work.
Collect fills the vast Saatchi Gallery from top to bottom in a well laid out exhibition which gives plentiful space to show off the pieces. So many objects, imaginatively made from a wide range of materials can be viewed, pored over and even handled. I am always drawn to things which are colourful, having interesting textures and appear in multiples where everything is slightly different. There were some great examples that fitted that tick list.
Glass, ceramics, plastics, leather, wood, terracotta, resin….. there are no limits to the clever use of materials on display. I enjoyed chatting to Janine Partington who has created artworks using leather which she works with lino cut tools. When some paint accidentally dropped onto plain leather an idea popped into her brain and she with it. I like that sort of serendipity in creativity.
In the VIP lounge I was very impressed by the stunning chandelier by Cox London. Inspired by those polypore fungi which grow around the base of forest trees it incorporates over 5000 tiny glass leaves which were painstakingly added to the frame by a jeweller. A labour of love!
Collect is on at the Saatchi Gallery until Sunday 3rd March
