Modern masters metalwork and jewellery online catalogue

MODERN MASTERS [METALWORK AND JEWELLERY]

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This Page: Giovanni Corvaja’s studio in Italy Front Cover: Detail of Giovanni Corvaja’s Golden Fleece Bracelet (p17) Photos: courtesy of Adrian Sassoon, London

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MODERN MASTERS [METALWORK AND JEWELLERY]

9th SEPTEMBER - 3rd OCTOBER 2015 Malcolm Appleby Michael Becker Giovanni Corvaja Susan Cross Koji Hatakeyama Kathryn Hinton Prof. Yasuki Hiramatsu Adrian Hope William Kirk Michael Lloyd

Roger Millar Jacqueline Mina Grant McCaig Cóilín Ó Dubhghaill Wendy Ramshaw Jacqueline Ryan Hiroshi Suzuki Hazel Thorn Adi Toch Yusuke Yamamoto

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INTRODUCTION

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The Scottish Gallery Passing It On March 2014

odern Masters [Metalwork & Jewellery] coincides with the opening of The Silversmith’s Art at the National Museums Scotland (18th September 2015 - 4th January 2016). The museum exhibition will showcase 150 ‘masterpieces’ made between 2000 2015 by 66 contemporary Silversmiths.

The core collection is from The Goldsmiths’ Company, London. This ancient guild has supported the UK’s gold and silversmithing trades for over 700 years. Likewise, Edinburgh’s Incorporation of Goldsmiths has also supported the gold and silver trade since 1687. National Museums Scotland has an impressive permanent collection of both historical and contemporary silver and continues to play an important role in supporting contemporary Silversmiths through various commissioning projects and curating important exhibitions dedicated to the subject. Edinburgh is therefore the ideal historic city and National Museums Scotland is the ideal museum to celebrate this contemporary collection of silver and the talented Silversmiths living and working in the UK today.

There are a number of events and initiatives coinciding with the museum exhibition across Edinburgh and Glasgow, making this month collectively known as Silver September. Whilst

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has represented a large proportion of the artists in The Silversmith’s Art, and the aim of Modern Masters is to act as a modest, complementary exhibition which includes a number of world class artists alongside emerging talent. Our relationships with artists are built on trust and an understanding of and commitment to talent.

Modern Masters is a reminder of what The Gallery does best, which is that we are both a leader and a follower; we have often been the first to realise and exhibit talent and we have played a significant role in securing work for permanent and private collections alike. The heart of what we do is to exhibit the best of Scottish work alongside UK and international artists, six days a week, 50 weeks a year. Month after month we dream up a diverse range of exhibitions in one united house of art. I am as ever eternally grateful to all the artists for making this exhibition possible including the estates of William Kirk and Professor Yasuki Hiramatsu. Special thanks to Adrian Sassoon for allowing The Gallery to premiere Giovanni Corvaja’s Golden Fleece Bracelet in Scotland.

the number of Silversmiths coming out of the art school system has decreased in the last ten years, there is still a high proportion of Silversmiths who have been trained in Scotland or live in Scotland.

The fifteen year period highlighted at the NMS exhibition is also significant. It marks a roller coaster economic period since the millennium; a time marked by unprecedented fluctuations in metal prices which has had a profound effect on the field of metalwork and jewellery. Businesses and artists who have survived the banking crisis are testament to sheer perseverance, hard work and creative talent. Art is a high risk business and whilst there are many initiatives for artists to show their work, these are challenging times. The Silversmith’s Art is therefore a great opportunity for the NMS to engage the public and spark an appreciation for and generate new interest in contemporary metalwork.

“world class artists alongside emerging talent”

The Gallery has exhibited metalwork since the 1970’s with more regular exhibitions of Scottish Silversmiths shown from the early 1980’s. The exhibition The Metal Vessel in 1988 secured the gallery a reputation as a leading light and innovator in the field of contemporary metalwork and jewellery. The Scottish Gallery

Christina Jansen The Scottish Gallery 5

Malcolm Appleby Photo: Philippa Swann

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MALCOLM APPLEBY [ b. 1946 ]

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“Engraving is central to my design and art; it is from engraving that my other skills have evolved.”

I enjoy harnessing other craftsmen’s skills to extend my own creative theories of form-related goldsmithing techniques.”

Aberdeen Art Gallery hosted Malcolm Appleby Designer and Engraver in 1998 and The Goldsmiths’ Company, London honoured his career with a retrospective exhibition Precious Statements in 2006. The Scottish Gallery will be celebrating Malcolm’s 70th year in January 2016.

alcolm Appleby settled in Scotland in 1969 and opened his first workshop in Crathes, Aberdeenshire before setting up his current workshop in Aultbeag, Perthshire in 1996. Appleby is known primarily as an engraver and he is considered to be one of the most original and highly skilled craftsmen working in Britain today. His prolific output ranges from sculptural table pieces to small silver buttons. Constant experimentation adds an element of the adventurer to his work, and he moves freely between exquisitely detailed engraving to bold cutting and texturing of metal. Whatever the scale, individuality and vitality of gesture mark each Appleby piece. His career spans 50 years, promoting engraving through his own work and providing opportunities for young engravers and silversmiths. “Engraving is central to my design and art; it is from engraving that my other skills have evolved.

Public Collections include: The Victoria & Albert Museum, London The Goldsmiths’ Company, London British Museum, London Royal Armouries, Tower of London Ashmolean Museum, Oxford Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh Perth Museum & Art Gallery

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Malcolm Appleby Silver Engraved Brooch 2014 H4.8 x W8 cms Enamelling by Jane Short Signed by M Appleby JS KW Photo: Philippa Swann

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Malcolm Appleby Enamel Arctic & Antarctic Beakers 2014 H10.5 x D7.6 cms each Britannia silver & enamel Enamelling by Jane Short Signed and dated on base Malcolm Appleby 5.3.15 JS Photo: Philippa Swann

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Michael Becker in his studio in Munich, Germany

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MICHAEL BECKER [ b. 1958]

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ichael Becker studied at the Fachhochschule Cologne, Germany. His exquisite small scale constructions offers us a powerful contemporary interpretation of this most ancient of materials.

“I began to look for deeply colourful raw stones with an interesting, speaking surface”

surface: a surface which would serve as a miniature of the great forms of nature and natural phenomena.”

Michael Becker

Public Collections include: Victoria & Albert Museum, London Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim Kunstgewerbemuseum, Berlin Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Montreal Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, New York

LAPIS LAZULI “A number of years ago, I searched for intensely colourful stones and minerals that are found in nature. During my search, I came across the Afghan lapis lazuli, a stone which, before the invention of synthetic pigments, provided the most marvellous blue for painting. I became captivated not only by the colour, but also by the surface, the ‘stone quality’ of these blue rocks. It was at this point that I began to look for deeply colourful raw stones with an interesting, ‘speaking’

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Michael Becker Lapis Lazuli Bracelet 2015 Au gold 750 W2 x L18.5 cm Photo: Stacey Bentley

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Michael Becker Lapis Lazuli Collar 2015 Au gold 750 L56 cms Photo: Stacey Bentley

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GIOVANNI CORVAJA [ b. 1971]

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his is the first time The Golden Fleece has been exhibited in Scotland. Giovanni Corvaja was born in Padua, Italy and trained at the Pietro Selvatico School of Art in Padua and the Royal College of Art London.

In 2008 Corvaja dedicated himself to the Golden Fleece project. Almost 10 years of detailed research and two years in the studio culminated in five unique pieces of jewellery.

Through the intense making process, wire is drawn down to a finer and finer thread (less than 10 microns) altering the qualities of the material. The wire then becomes softer and smooth to the touch, with a feeling akin to fur. The Golden Fleece collection is a technical tour de force by an artist at the height of his powers. The Victoria & Albert Museum are currently displaying The Golden Fleece Headpiece in their What is Luxury? exhibition (25th April – 27th September 2015).

“Everything started because of my passion and fascination about metals. Ever since I was a child I found metals to be very interesting: the way they feel to the touch, the way they reflect the light, the way they absorb so quickly the warmth of our hands,

their malleability and ductility were like miracles for me. In the earth metals are very common, but, because at its origin the earth was hot and melted, most of it collapsed to the centre of it, forming the earth’s core: a giant ball of melted iron of thousands of kilometres in diameter. Most probably the heavier of those metals are in the inner core…I am convinced that the soul of the earth is a huge sphere of gold and platinum, or at least, that is how I like to imagine it.” Giovanni Corvaja Public Collections include: National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art Victoria & Albert Museum, London Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France Kunstgewerbemuseum, Berlin, Germany Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim, Germany Museo degli Argenti, Florence, Italy National Gallery of Australia, Canberra Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Montreal, Canada The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, USA The Newark Museum, New Jersey, USA Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, USA

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Giovanni Corvaja in his studio in Italy Photo: courtesy of Adrian Sassoon, London

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This is the first time The Golden Fleece Bracelet has been exhibited in Scotland. The Golden Fleece Bracelet was made with hundreds of thousands of fine wires of precious yellow metal forming a fleece.

The bracelet consists of a hollow perforated torus, with 12,672 holes and 1,241,856 single wires (28km of wire in total). The inner surface is decorated with 4,000 precious white metal granules. It took 1,250 hours to complete.

Giovanni Corvaja The Golden Fleece Bracelet 2008 Diameter 9 cms x Width 5.5 cms Photo: courtesy of Adrian Sassoon, London

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Susan Cross Two Hoops Oxidised silver and 18ct gold L55 cms Photo: Stacey Bentley

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Susan Cross in her Edinburgh studio Photo: Michael Wolchover

SUSAN CROSS [ b. 1964 ]

“Each work is carefully composed and every phase is intensely considered.”

usan Cross has lived and worked in Edinburgh since 1989. One of her recent notable accolades was to be short listed for the prestigious Jerwood Applied Arts Award for Jewellery in 2007. This award is given by the Jerwood Foundation in recognition of excellence, innovation, commitment and significant contribution to the field of jewellery. Susan also lectures in the prestigious Jewellery and Silversmithing department at Edinburgh College of Art.

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and spontaneity. The complete integration with my life imbues my work with a depth and authenticity belied by its apparent simplicity. As a jeweller, I aim to explore the sensuality of the body through the tactility of the materials. My work enables me to communicate an aspect of myself to those who choose to wear it, articulating my creative energy, allowing the wearer to interpret it at an individual level.”

Susan Cross

“A breadth of interests and ideas continues to fuel and underpin the development of the jewellery that I make. Each work is carefully composed and every phase is intensely considered. Drawing is an integral part of this creative process; a thoughtful and responsive activity thus ensuring freshness

Public Collections include: Victoria & Albert Museum, London National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh Crafts Council, London Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, London Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery Edinburgh Royal Infirmary 19 19

Koji Hatakeyama in his studio Takaoka Toyama Prefecture Japan 2014 Photo: Sekai Bunka Publishing Inc.

KOJI HATAKEYAMA [ b. 1956 ]

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My consciousness is veiled in bronze.”

Koji Hatakeyama

oji Hatakeyama was born in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, an area renowned for the ancient art of metal casting and he graduated from Kanazawa College of Arts and Crafts Department of Metalwork in 1980.

Koji’s exquisitely made work reveals a gold or silver interior. He creates enigmatic, patinated surfaces which represent an imagined landscape, evoking a timeless quality.

Public Collections include: Victoria & Albert Museum, London National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum, Aberdeen Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, Birmingham Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, USA The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford National Museum of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia Denmark Royal Family, Copenhagen, Denmark National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan The Japan Foundation, Tokyo, Japan Takaoka City Museum, Toyama, Japan Musee Tomo,Tokyo, Japan Rakusuite Museum, Toyama, Japan

“The patterns and facets I create on the outside are a direct response to the landscape, real or imagined.”

“I create contained vessels; I try to convey the sense that something is concealed or hidden within. I try to provoke a sense of the spiritual world in my bronze boxes. The patterns and facets I create on the outside are a direct response to the landscape, real or imagined. I find that when using gold or silver leaf within the interiors, there is a sense of enlightenment when opening the lid, my intention is to enter a different world, a different place. This place has no darkness.

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Koji Hatakeyama Eight Faces VII 2014 Cast bronze H14.5 x W12 x D12 cms Photo: Tomoaki Kanatani

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Kathryn Hinton in her Edinburgh studio Photo: courtesy of Craft Scotland

KATHRYN HINTON [ b. 1981 ]

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“One of the most recent pieces I have made was the faceted silver carafe. The piece is the tallest piece I have made using the process of CNC milling and press forming.”

using processes such as Computer Numerical Control (CNC) milling and press forming. The Scottish Gallery will be showcasing new work from Kathryn in October 2016.

athryn Hinton was awarded a first class degree in goldsmithing at the Kent Institute of Art & Design in 2003 and was Artist in Residence in the Jewellery & Silversmithing Department at Edinburgh College of Art in 2012 and now lives and works in Edinburgh. She has received a number of awards for her work including the Gold Award for Craftsmanship & Design from the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths.

Kathryn Hinton’s work focuses on merging traditional silversmithing ideas with digital technology. The pieces are designed in a computer aided design programme to achieve the faceted forms and realised in silver

“One of the most recent pieces I have made was the faceted silver carafe. The piece is the tallest piece I have made using the process of CNC milling and press forming.”

Kathryn Hinton Public Collections include: The Goldsmiths’ Company, London Crafts Council, London Aberdeen Medico-Chirurgical Society

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Kathryn Hinton Faceted Silver Carafe 2014 Britannia Silver H29 x W8 x D7 cms

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Yasuki Hiramatsu in his studio in Tokyo, Japan 2007 Photo: Miriam K端nzli

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PROFESSOR YASUKI HIRAMATSU [ 1926 - 2012 ]

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“The metals which I mainly use are also like living things; when I make a piece, I play, worry, struggle with it and encourage it.”

National University of Fine Arts and Music until 1993.

“The metals which I mainly use are also like living things; when I make a piece, I play, worry, struggle with it and encourage it.”

Professor Yasuki Hiramatsu, 2001

rofessor Yasuki Hiramatsu was one of the great pioneers of modern jewellery, creating works of outstanding beauty and grace. The methods he employed were often delightfully simple – work beaten with a hammer, folded by hand and roughened with stone; turning cold, hard sheets of metal into soft ribbons and playful crumpled up balls of paper then cast into enigmatic forms. His life’s work was a celebration of gold; its richness, strength and inherent beauty. Ever present in Professor Hiramatsu’s work is a sense of playfulness; drama combined with technical genius. Originally from Osaka, Japan, he was born into a metalsmithing family in 1926. In 1952, he graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts & Music. He had a prestigious career as an educator and was a Professor at the Tokyo

Public Collections include: The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Tokyo Kumamoto Museum of Traditional Art and Craft, Japan Museum für Kunstandwerk, Hamburg, Germany Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim, Germany Royal College of Art, London Victoria & Albert Museum, London National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh Imperial Household Agency, Tokyo 25

Professor Yasuki Hiramatsu Crumpled Paper Brooch/Pendant 2006 20ct & 23ct gold, resin and gold leaf L9 x W1.5 cms Photo: JoĂŤl Degen

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Professor Yasuki Hiramatsu Crumpled Paper Brooch c.2006 22ct gold with enamel D6.2 cms Photo: Stacey Bentley

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Adrian Hope Large Stone Vase 2015 Silver H25.5 x D19 cms

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Adrian Hope outside his studio in the Scottish Borders

ADRIAN HOPE [ b. 1953 ]

“I want the owners and users of my work to enjoy it, so it has to be direct and approachable and tactile.”

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manipulate with complete sympathy. I want the owners and users of my work to enjoy it , so it has to be direct and approachable and tactile. Preciousness is a hindrance. Usefulness a happy bonus.”

Adrian Hope

drian Hope is one of the UK’s leading silversmiths and studied at Sheffield and Edinburgh College of Art. He is also a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, London. Adrian first established a workshop in Edinburgh in 1980, before settling in the Scottish Borders in 1995.

Since this time, Adrian Hope has continued to develop and refine his silversmithing techniques creating both complex and seemingly simple sculptural forms. He enriches surfaces through the subtle use of hammering and embossing, creating pieces which are a delight to handle and use.

Public Collections include: National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum, Aberdeen The Museum of Edinburgh Bute House Collection, Edinburgh Victoria & Albert Museum, London Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, London Kelvingrove Museum & Art Gallery, Glasgow Incorporation of Goldsmiths, Edinburgh Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Museums Sheffield

“I like my work to be, for want of a better word, friendly. The reason for using silver at all is because it is a wonderful, forgiving, pliable material that I can 29 29

William Kirk in his studio, Edinburgh c. 2007 Photo: Shannon Tofts

WILLIAM KIRK [ 1933 – 2009 ]

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“William Kirk’s complete mastery of techniques such as hand raising, mark him out as a silversmith who really understood the nature of the medium. His elegantly simple, yet beautifully wrought tumbler cups and larger bowls speak to me of the great Scottish masters of the 17th century, and yet are so obviously of the present.”

s a student at Broughton Senior Secondary School, William Kirk won art prizes for sculpture and on leaving became apprentice to Charles Creswick, the Edinburgh based sculptural metalworker and bronze founder.

His skills as an instructor were first noted during a period of National Service. He resumed work with Creswick until he set up his own silversmithing business in 1961.

William developed an excellent standard of hand engraving, creating his own elegant and beautifully proportioned letterforms and completed many significant commissions throughout his career. He also taught at both Glasgow School of Art (1961 - 1978) and at Edinburgh College of Art (1980 - 1999).

“His elegantly simple, yet beautifully wrought tumbler cups and larger bowls speak to me of the great Scottish masters of the 17th century, and yet are so obviously of the present.”

George Dalgleish, National Museums Scotland

Public Collections include: National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum, Aberdeen The Museum of Edinburgh Edinburgh University, Napier University, Stirling University Bute House Collection, Edinburgh

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William Kirk Pair of Hammer Raised Silver Bowls 2003 H7.5 x D14 cms Photo: Shannon Tofts

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Michael Lloyd in his studio near Castle Douglas, 2014

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MICHAEL LLOYD [ b. 1950 ] “An act of homage both to our landscape and to our increasingly fragile sense of creativity.”

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ichael Lloyd was born in Salisbury in 1950. He trained first at the Birmingham School of Silversmithing and then at the Royal College of Art under Professor Robert Goodden and Professor Gerald Benney.

He has lived and worked in Scotland for over 30 years and is based near Castle Douglas. Michael describes himself as a compulsive maker. Certainly his beautiful, chased silver and gold vessels illustrate a profound understanding of both material and techniques. Inspired by the natural world, his work becomes, in his own words “An act of homage both to our landscape and to our increasingly fragile sense of creativity.”

Michael Lloyd is building a special collection of new work which will be unveiled as part of our Edinburgh International Festival exhibitions in August 2016.

Public Collections include: Victoria & Albert Museum, London Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, London National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh Crafts Council, London Birmingham City Art Gallery Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

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Michael Lloyd Ille Terrarum Mihi Praeter Omnes Angulus Ridet 2014 Hammered and chased silver with gilt interior H6 x D11.5 cms Photo: Stacey Bentley

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Michael Lloyd Oak Leaves Beaker 2014 Raised and chased silver with gilt interior H7 x W7 cms Photo: Stacey Bentley

Michael Lloyd Beech Leaves Beaker 2014 Raised and chased silver with gilt interior H7 x W7 cms Photo: Stacey Bentley

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ROGER MILLAR [ b. 1956 ]

strong, stable and hard enough for regular handling. It is a clean material to work with and has a beautiful colour. On a visit to old friends at Lindean Mill Glass near Selkirk, I saw these cylindrical tumblers and I bought a number of them with a variety of coloured rims. I enjoy making silver pieces with a particular function and thought the glasses would make attractive liners for a pair of serving items. I had already constructed a press tool to make the corrugated silver sheet and thought that it made a happy compliment to the glass - and maybe even the contents!” Roger Millar, 2015

“ Silver is a wonderful material.

It is malleable enough for easy working, yet strong, stable and hard enough for regular handling.”

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oger Millar studied silversmithing and jewellery design at the Glasgow School of Art, and at the Royal College of Art, London.

Roger was Head of Silversmithing and Jewellery at Glasgow School of Art from 1984 - 2005. He was elected to the Freedom of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths and gained the Freedom of the City of London in 1985. In recognition of his significant contribution to education in design and craft, he was awarded in 1999, an Honorary Professorship of the University of Glasgow at the Glasgow School of Art. “Silver is a wonderful material. It is malleable enough for easy working, yet

Public Collections include: National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh The Millennium Collection at Bute House, Edinburgh Incorporation of Goldsmiths, Edinburgh The National Trust for Scotland The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow 36

Roger Millar Condiment/Jam Pots 2014 Spoons L16.5 x D11 cms Optic tumblers by Lindean Mill Glass H10.5 x W7 cms each (approx)

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Jacqueline Mina in her London studio, 2010 Photo: Harriet Logan

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JACQUELINE MINA [ b. 1942] “highly addictive”

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jewellery. Her outstanding skill is but the means to create highly recognisable and characteristic jewellery, in an inventive and innovative language of her own. Mina’s are: subtly composed miniature asymmetrical sculpture forms which function with beguiling grace as brooches, earrings, rings, necklaces: an easeful pleasure to wear, and as significant collectors and collections acknowledge, highly addictive.” Marina Vaizey, 2011

acqueline Mina studied jewellery at Hornsey and the Royal College of Art, London.

She won the Jerwood Prize for Jewellery in 2000 and her work is widely recognised as a giant talent and influence amongst UK and European contemporary goldsmiths.

Her superb technical accomplishment in manipulating precious metals is combined with a fine, painterly eye. Sources of inspiration include Venetian Palazzo Fortuny with its textile drapes and devoré velvet with their patterns etched away. The Gallery is delighted that Jacqueline Mina is going to be part of The Gallery’s 175th anniversary exhibitions in 2017.

Public Collections include: National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh Victoria & Albert Museum, London Cooper–Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York The Crafts Council, London The Goldsmiths’ Company, London Leeds Museums and Galleries Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art

“Jacqueline Mina is a consummately accomplished artist, continually experimenting with techniques which produce the most exquisite, textured and coloured titanium, platinum and gold

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Jacqueline Mina A Group of Gold Rings 18ct gold and platinum dots fusion inlay, diamonds and grey moonstone Photo: Stacey Bentley

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Jacqueline Mina Forged Necklace and Pendant 2004 18ct gold and platinum dots fusion inlay with diamonds Collar W12.7 x D11.5 cms Pendant L10.5 x W3 cms at widest point Photo: Stacey Bentley

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Grant McCaig in his studio 2014 Photo: courtesy Craft Scotland

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GRANT McCAIG [ b. 1974 ]

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“Soft and rounded, or crisp with sharp edges and plain bold surfaces!

Silver, you will find, can do it all.”

to the possibilities and the ideas that I originally purchased the metal for tend to pale in the face of the endless possibilities that lie before me. Soft and rounded, or crisp with sharp edges and plain bold surfaces! Silver, you will find, can do it all.”

Grant McCaig

rant McCaig studied at Glasgow School of Art and completed an MA at the Royal College of Art, London in 2011. He has won numerous awards and his work is exhibited internationally. He is one of the most imaginative silversmiths working in the UK today.

“Working in silver is inspiring and creative, technical and expressive. I use traditional silversmithing techniques as my foundation.

I build pieces that explore the relationship between functionality and self expression.

I want my work to be individual in design and concept and give pleasure to the user.

There is something magical about this material. When it arrives in the brown paper and card board packaging, which is promptly unwrapped and examined, a voyage of discovery begins. My mind skips

In December 2015, The Gallery will showcase Grant McCaig’s recent work in jewellery and metalwork.

Public Collections include: Aberdeen Art Gallery, Aberdeen National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh The Goldsmiths’ Company, London Incorporation of Goldsmiths, Edinburgh Bute House Collection, Edinburgh Birmingham Museums and Art Galleries 43

Grant McCaig Spoons With Wooden Handles 2014 Silver and wood L26 – 34 cms Photo: Stacey Bentley

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Grant McCaig Silver Pleated Teapot 2010 Silver with coral wood detail H21 x D15 cms Private Collection Photo: Stacey Bentley

Cóilín Ó Dubhghail Tulipiere 3 2015 Nickel plated copper H35 x W33 x D18 cms

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Cóilín in his Sheffield studio 2014 Photo: Bob Levene

CÓILÍN Ó DUBHGHAILL [ b. 1974 ]

“The ‘Tulipiere’ series uses the multi-spout form of 17th century Dutch ceramic vases as a starting point for an investigation of form and a reflection on the relationship between object and value.”

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’Dubhghaill’s work looks at the intersection between traditional craft processes and new technologies. Recent projects have explored the use of material science to improve our understanding of tacit skills and craft materials, the appropriation of industrial technologies for craft production, and the development of new ways of using traditional craft processes and materials in the production of studio work.

The Tulipiere series uses the multi-spout form of 17th century Dutch ceramic vases as a starting point for an investigation of form and a reflection on the relationship between object and value. Cóilín Ó Dubhghaill is the Senior Research Fellow in the Art and Design Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University, where he also has a studio.

Born in Dublin, Cóilín trained at Grennan Mill Craft School and Edinburgh College of Art, graduating in 1996. In 1998, he moved to Tokyo, to study in the metalwork department at the National University of Fine Arts and Music (Tokyo Geidai), receiving a doctorate in 2005. He recently won the prestigious Bavarian State Prize for metalwork in Germany.

Public Collections include: Irish State Art Collection, Ireland Design & Crafts Council of Ireland The Goldsmiths’ Company, London National Museum of Ireland, Dublin Incorporation of Goldsmiths, Edinburgh Birmingham Assay Office Collection, UK National Museums Wales, Cardiff 47 47

Wendy Ramshaw in her studio, 2007 Photo: Phil Sayer

WENDY RAMSHAW CBE RDI [ b. 1939 ]

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“Her drive to achieve perfection and her boldness of innovation have led to new and exciting developments. ”

endy Ramshaw, CBE, RDI, is an international champion of modern jewellery and her work has become synonymous with The Scottish Gallery. We have exhibited some of her most ambitious ideas through exhibitions such as Picasso’s Ladies (1989), Room of Dreams (2002), Prospero’s Table (2004) and a Journey Through Glass (2007). Exhibitions such as Room of Dreams, which was designed and created as a theatrical stage set for the jewellery, have become embedded not only in Ramshaw’s spectacular career, but also illustrate the commitment by The Gallery to truly original ideas. The Gallery hosted The Inventor (2013) which paid tribute to her ideas and talent and highlighted the significant collection of work that The Gallery holds. Her signature Ringsets are represented in over 70 public collections worldwide.

“In more than one sense, Ramshaw and her rings, has created a portable art form. Her main theme is a series of ring sets with a dual function…

Basic themes in Ramshaw’s ring designs run through her oeuvre, but her drive to achieve perfection and her boldness of innovation have led to new and exciting developments.

In her rings Wendy Ramshaw clearly expresses one of her philosophies. ‘Jewellery is pure aesthetics’.” Dr Beatriz Chadour, Rings, Wendy Ramshaw, 1993.

Public Collections include: Victoria & Albert Museum, London National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA National Gallery of Western Australia, Canberra British Museum, London Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto

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Wendy Ramshaw Green Goddess Ringset 2000 18ct gold, emerald, carnelian, tourmaline and green garnet Photo: William Van Esland

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JACQUELINE RYAN [ b. 1966 ]

“studies derived from living organisms”

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composite shapes and forms from which my work is constructed move and sway with the body and sometimes jingle and rattle - quietly giving the work a pleasant tactile dimension and interacting with the wearer so that the piece may be animated and alive. I feel that my work has completed its cycle when it has found its wearer.”

Jacqueline Ryan

acqueline Ryan spent time at the Fachhochscule in Dusseldorf and after graduating from the Royal College of Art, London in 1991, she moved to Padua, Italy and shared a workshop with Giovanni Corvaja. Jacqueline works exclusively in gold and precious materials to create organic forms characterised by intricate arrangements of repeated elements, bringing to the field a unique voice grounded in the Italian tradition of architecture and design. Jacqueline now has her own workshop in Todi, Italy.

Public Collections include: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums, Aberdeen National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, London Victoria & Albert Museum, London Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France Museum für Künst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany Museo degli Argenti, Florence, Italy The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

“Most of my pieces are preceded by studies derived from living organisms, marine plants, flowers, or seeds and other found objects with the occasional aid of macrophotography that capture some of the finer-scale qualities more difficult to perceive with the naked eye. Repetition, naturally occurring in nature, is a recurrent theme that runs through much of my work as well as movement in which the 50

Jacqueline Ryan in her studio in Todi Italy 2015

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Jacqueline Ryan Ocean; Open Clam Earrings I 2014 18ct gold and enamel, H2.1 x W2.1 x D1.3 cms

Jacqueline Ryan Ocean; Open Clam Earrings II 2014 18ct gold and enamel, H2.1 x W2.1 x D1.3 cms

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Jacqueline Ryan Ocean; Clam Collier 2014 18ct gold and enamel, H43 x W2 cms

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HIROSHI SUZUKI [ b. 1961 ]

“Intuition and feeling are core to my creative process, allowing me to maintain sensitivity with the material.”

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Public Collections include: National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums, Aberdeen The National Museum of Wales, Cardiff Victoria & Albert Museum, London The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, London The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia The Museum of Arts and Design, New York, USA The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich National Museums Liverpool, Merseyside

orn in Japan, Hiroshi Suzuki initially trained in Industrial design in Tokyo before moving to London in 1994 to study metalwork at Camberwell College and then at the Royal College of Art. After establishing a studio in England in 1999, he now lives and works in Japan and is a Professor at the Musashino Art University in Tokyo.

Hiroshi Suzuki has had two solo exhibitions at The Scottish Gallery. His hammer-raised vessels are iconic and his work is recognised internationally for its outstanding quality. In 2010, he was honoured with a retrospective exhibition at Goldsmiths’ Hall, London.

“Intuition and feeling are core to my creative process, allowing me to maintain sensitivity with the material. The thematic influences in my work explore the subtleties within fluidity and sensuality, a very personal expression applied with an all-encompassing hand.”

Hiroshi Suzuki

Hiroshi Suzuki Photo: courtesy of Adrian Sassoon, London

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Hiroshi Suzuki Earth III-So 2010 Hammer-raised and chased fine silver 999 H31 x D28.5 cms Photo: courtesy of Adrian Sassoon, London

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Hiroshi Suzuki Aqua-Poesy XI Mini Vase 2013 Hammer-raised and chased fine silver 999 H22 x D11.5 cms Photo: courtesy of Adrian Sassoon, London

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Hiroshi Suzuki A Pair of  Terra P Dom Beakers 2013 Hammer-raised and chased fine silver 999 H.8.5 x D8.5 cms Photo: courtesy of Adrian Sassoon, London

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Hazel Thorn in her Edinburgh studio 2014

HAZEL THORN [ b. 1988 ]

“My sculptural vessels are an exploration and celebration of experimental metalwork techniques.”

H

that here the metal elements are fused side-by-side instead of being stacked in layers through the sheet. This allows me to make different types of patterns, and as a side effect also means that the work can be hallmarked (as each type of metal is easily visible and goes all the way through the sheet to the other side). Most of these pieces are intended as decorative objects rather than for a practical function. Combining metals then patinating the resulting object creates the bold patterns and colours in my work.”

Hazel Thorn The Scottish Gallery will be showcasing Hazel’s work in January 2017.

azel Thorn graduated with first class honours from Edinburgh College of Art in 2011 followed by an MFA and has just completed her artist in residency at ECA. Originally from Grantown on Spey, her sensitive sculptural forms and distinctive palette of turquoise, black and silver have already won her numerous awards.

“I grew up in a remote part of the Highlands, and have always loved wild places and natural objects. I do not directly use natural or found materials in my work, but rather explore intuitively with metal, and find that my admiration for the complexity, order and chaos of such forms and places surfaces indirectly. My sculptural vessels are an exploration and celebration of experimental metalwork. I developed this technique after learning Mokume Gane, the difference being

Public Collections include: The Goldsmiths’ Company, London The Incorporation of Goldsmiths, Edinburgh 58

Hazel Thorn Fractured 2014 Britannia silver and gilding-metal H20 x W16 x D12 cms Photo: Shannon Tofts

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Adi Toch Patinated Whispering Vessel 2015 Patina on silver plated base metal with steel balls contained inside H10 x D19 cms Photo: Odi Caspi

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Adi Toch in her London studio Photo: Isabelle Busnel

ADI TOCH [ b. 1979 ]

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di Toch completed her MA at the Cass, London in 2009 following her BA in Jewellery and Objects at Bezalel Art Academy in Jerusalem. She works from her studio in London where she creates enigmatic forms and vessels.

“The practice of making vessels and containers fascinates me as it enables me to work both with metal and space as materials, redefining borders between inside and outside. Through my work I explore the morphological qualities of vessels and the process of embedding functional objects with spirit. I create contemplative work, inviting interaction and communicating through its tactile essence.”

Adi Toch The series of patinated bowls explores an experimental technique of chemical colouring, developed in her work in recent years. The compound is applied to the metal and a rich mixture of variegated blues, greens, purples and reds is achieved. The result is a curious finish, which cannot be repeated.

“I create contemplative work, inviting interaction and communicating through its tactile essence.”

Public Collections include: National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge, Applied Arts Collection The Jewish Museum, New York Crafts Council permanent collection, London The Goldsmiths’ Company, London Turnov Museum, Czech Republic National Museums Wales, Cardiff

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YUSUKE YAMAMOTO [ b. 1979 ]

“ In each stroke of the hammer he tries to evoke an expression, atmosphere and emotion.”

Y

usuke Yamamoto was born in Kanagawa, Japan. He trained in silversmithing at the renowned Musashino Art University, Tokyo.

In 2011 he visited Musashino Art University in Tokyo which has a world class reputation for metalwork, headed by Professor Hiroshi Suzuki. In the same year he also met Anna Gordon (currently the Head of Silversmithing and Jewellery at Glasgow School of Art) and she invited him to take up an academic research position at GSA in 2012, where he

currently lives and works. Yusuke shapes his work by hammer raising and then chasing using many intricate hammers. He draws his inspiration from the natural world. In each stroke of the hammer he tries to evoke an expression, atmosphere and emotion.

Yusuke Yamamoto is one of the most exciting silversmiths to be working in the UK today.

Public Collections include: The Goldsmiths’ Company, London New College, Oxford

Yusuke Yamamoto in his Glasgow workshop

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Yusuke Yamamoto Sweet Squama 2013 Hammer-raised and chased fine silver H9 x W14 cms

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Published by The Scottish Gallery to coincide with the exhibition Modern Masters 9th September – 3rd October 2015

MODERN MASTERS Exhibition can be viewed online at www.scottish-gallery.co.uk/modernmastersmetal ISBN: 978-1-910267-21-9 Designed by Sarah Diver Lang Printed by J Thomson Colour Printers All rights reserved. No part of this catalogue may be reproduced in any form by print, photocopy or by any other means, without the permission of the copyright holders and of the publishers.

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MODERN MASTERS [METALWORK AND JEWELLERY]