JOHN MAKEPEACE
John Makepeace played a significant role in the revival of British fine contemporary furniture making in the 1960’s. His early successes were designed for volume production but his passion has always been for the exceptional qualities of unique commissioned furniture. He is especially noted for the superb series of chairs he has designed such as, Mitre, Herald, Knot, Phoenix, Sylvan, Millennium and Trine, which have all been made individually or in small groups. Each series is known around the world for its powerful clarity, simplicity of line and extraordinary craftsmanship. The former director of The Wallace Collection Dame Rosalind Savill quotes, ‘The sublime effect of the exquisitely chosen materials, perfectly crafted to serve and enhance the human body and soul, makes John Makepeace’s work overwhelmingly desirable.’
‘John Makepeace has a special place in the History of design and fine furniture makeup’ - Prof. Jeremy Myerson, Royal College of Art.
Black Trine Variations follows the theme of chairs with three legs accompanied by the Black Trine table. The chairs have a strong sculptural presence which is enhanced by their extraordinary comfort and stability. Made in burr oak, the structure of the multi-layered seat is revealed by its contours. The rear leg provides the vital lumbar support precisely where it is needed, while the concave back embraces the kidneys. The scorched finish heightens the texture of the distinctive English oak. Conversely, the conical layering of the Black Trine table provides rigidity at the centre as the spring point for the legs and support for the slender edge.
Trine Chairs: The Organic Series: Scorched Oak, 2017. 80 x 45 x 48 cm each. ÂŁ12,000 + vat (each)
All prices exlcude tax, shipping and installation
Trine Table: The Organic Series: Scorched Oak, 2017. 72 x 120 x 120 cm With Pewter Plate £25,000 + vat Pewter Plate, Philip Fox of Exter, circa 1720, 42 cm
In the 1970’s, Makepeace founded Parnham College in Dorset as an independent school of design and furniture making for those aspiring to set up a business. It has singularly been responsible for launching the careers of multiple famous designers and makers, and provided the pattern for many courses now offered around the world. In the 1980’s, as the world began to recognise the depletion of its natural resources, John Makepeace initiated the construction of a new forest-based campus, Hooke Park. The principle of this campus was to incorporate normally wasted small diameter trees as part of silvicultural management. These small diameter trees became the primary structural material of the campus. New technologies were developed in collaboration with pan-European research programmes, and the resulting findings were demonstrated through the architecture of the new campus (now part of the international Architectural Association). Those technologies have now flowed into the design of his furniture enabling new, more efficient and enduring forms. September 2017 marked 40 years since Parnham College was founded, and to honour this milestone anniversary, Makepeace released ‘Beyond Parnham’, a limited-edition publication, detailing Parnham College’s innovative vision and cultural legacy, revealing highly personal reflections from over 100 renowned Parnham alumni and the esteemed tutors who trained them. On 5th September, the Design Museum hosted ‘The Matter of Making’ which inaugurated the launch of the book at an event that featured an impressive line-up of speakers including Catherine Rossi, including Catharine Rossi, Glenn Adamson, Richard Sennett, and of coures, John Makepeace himseld, to discuss the importance of design and craftsmanship. John Makepeace was awarded the OBE in 1988, received the Lifetime achievement Award from the American Furniture Society in 2004 and the Prince Philip Designer Prize in 2016.
Makepeace is a founding member of the Crafts Council UK, and from 1987–91 was a trustee of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. In 1976, He was awarded an OBE in 1988 for his services to furniture design and in 2004, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Furniture Society. In 2012, his work was included in the major Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition British Design 1948–2012: Innovation in the Modern Age. He is the Winner of the Prince Philip Designers Prize 2016. John’s reputation is significantly recognised amongst collectors in the USA, including John Bryan, former chairman of the Board of Trustees at The Art Institute of Chicago who says, ‘The quality of craftsmanship is superb; it fills me with a sense of wonder’ Makepeace was awarded the OBE in 1988, received the Lifetime achievement Award from the American Furniture Society in 2004 and the Prince Philip Designer Prize in 2016. 2017 marks the 40th anniversary of the start of the College, and the book Beyond Parnham records that fascinating story and the careers of a hundred alumni. www.beyondparnham.com
Awards and Collections Awards 1972 Observer Kitchen Design Prize 1988 OBE for furniture design 1995 European Conservation Foundation Award 1998 Furniture Makers Company, Claxton Stevens Award 2004 Furniture Society (USA) Lifetime Achievement Award 2009 Furniture Makers Company, Claxton Stevens Award 2010 Furniture Makers Company, London, Lifetime Achievement Award 2010 Special Commendation. Prince Philip Designers Prize. Corporate Collections: Library and study bedrooms for the Oxford Centre for Management Studies (now Green Templeton College) 120 study bedrooms for Fellows and Students and the Middle Common Room, Keble College, Oxford 1972 Association of British Insurers Royal Society of Arts Sir Clive Sinclair Boardroom furniture for: Boots Reid Elsvier Liberty’s Centenary dining room Caledonian Airlines Portals plc (now part of De La Rue) Kodak Europe Royal Scottish Museum Grosvenor Estates Banque du Luxembourg
1967
Public Collections: Victoria & Albert Museum Birmingham City Art Gallery Temple Newsam, Leeds City Art Gallery Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge National Museum of Wales, Cardiff Museum für Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt Arts Institute of Chicago, Chicago, USA Lewis Collection, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia, USA Crab Tree Farm, Illinois, USA
SARAH MYERSCOUGH GALLERY
Viewings by appointment only Studio 401, Southbank House Black Prince Rd, London SE1 7SJ UK Tel: +44 (0) 20 7495 0069 info@sarahmyerscough.com