The Boldness of Calder at Louisa Guinness Gallery

Alexander Calder is famous for his sculptures and the impact his pioneering mobiles had on 20th century art. The Tate’s exhibition Performing Sculpture earlier this year showcased some of the mediums that Calder experimented with. From capturing a circus scene in a single strand of wire, to composing a universe in a few shapes to dance in our imagination;

"He took sculpture and liberated it, and set it in motion" - Dara O Briain

But what about his amazing jewellery?

Photograph by Alexander English "The Boldness of Calder"

It seems surprising that it has taken this long for a Calder jewellery exhibition to happen in London, but it was worth the wait...

THE BOLDNESS OF CALDER
LOUISA GUINNESS GALLERY
27TH SEP - 5th Nov

The wearable pieces Calder produced are key to his practice and Louisa Guinness Gallery has curated the perfect showcase in this new exhibition: The Boldness of Calder. 

"His dynamic works brought to life the avant-garde’s fascination with movement, and brought sculpture into the fourth dimension." - Performing Sculpture, Tate 2106

Calder's jewellery is so exciting because it allows the wearer to become a part of his kinetic art. 

Alexander Calder Brass necklace in "The Boldness of Calder"

Wire necklace by Alexander Calder at Louisa Guinness Gallery

We know how emotive it can be to observe a piece of sculpture or a painting, but what about being a part of it? Wearing these pieces would certainly have an impact on how you felt and even how others behaved towards you. Some of the pieces are very armour-like.

Silver necklace by Alexander Calder at Louisa Guinness Gallery

Showstopping necklace to greet you at The Boldness of Calder

Often in textured metal, but sometimes combining wood and textiles these are sculptures to fit around the body, en-robing, entwining and exaggerating the form with angular points or delicate fronds unfurling.

Connected components fit over the body in a Calder necklace

Calder necklace combining textiles and metal

The shapes of these look like runes from an Ancient language

Calder's tribal influences can be clearly seen in his jewellery. The red velvet displays at The Boldness of Calder add to the feeling of ceremony as if the pieces hold their own ancient power to bestow on the wearer. White photography backdrops also hang in rolls from the ceiling as if we've walked into the middle of a shoot. This keeps a clean, minimal aesthetic and it is a simple yet fitting environment for the jewellery which itself seems simultaneously both ancient and new. These pieces were made by Calder in the 30s and 40s but are just as boldly unique, desirable and exciting as ever. 

Wooden shapes in charcoal black in this striking piece by Calder

There are some beautiful photographs of famous women wearing Calder pieces through the decades; Georgia O'Keeffe, Anjelica Huston, Peggy Guggenheim and Brooke Shields. A chic combination of fashion and art; I also remember a golden cuff by Calder being name checked by the artist in Truffaut's 1968 cult film "The Bride Wore Black".

Art and Hollywood, Calder necklaces gracing leading female figures

New photographs were commissioned for the exhibition, captured by Alexander English styled with fashion designer Elise Overland. The stunning images hark back to the clean elegance of mid 20th century photography with a contemporary, modern edge.   

For more information on this great exhibition, you can get in touch with Louisa Guinness Gallery.   This is a rare chance to see this work all together, especially so close up, I'm sure I will have to pay another visit soon!

THE BOLDNESS OF CALDER
LOUISA GUINNESS GALLERY
27TH SEP - 5th Nov

Material Worlds

At the weekend I visited the new Material Worlds wing at Tate Modern.

 

The work on show features artists who utilise all kinds of materials, often in larger scale installations. These included found objects, natural materials, textiles stitched in secret locations and even endless ropes of human hair.

Sheela Gowda, Behold 2009

Magdalena Abakanowicz, Embyology 1978–80

I was most excited to see work by one of my favourite artists, Louise Nevelson, in this new exhibit!

 

Louise Nevelson "An American Tribute to the British People" 1960–4 Painted wood, 3110 x 4424 x 920 mm 

 

This piece was gifted by Nevelson in 1965, titled "An American Tribute to the British People", Nevelson's her dealer said that the artist felt that it was appropriate for our monarchial country:

"Its cathedral-like aspect, which seems to present the viewer with an altar at which to kneel, perhaps to receive some royal blessing, and its gilded splendor … were considered peculiarly appropriate.’

Originally born in Czarist Russia, Nevelson lived most of her life in New York, and was heavily influenced by her surroundings. This glorious gold sculpture also reminds me of the iconic cities luxurious sky scrapers.

Art Deco plaque of the Empire State Building, New York.

The display caption tells us that Nevelson worked on this assemblage over a number of years, continually recomposing the found objects within it. Close-up it reminds me of the stacks of old paintings in gilt frames in auctions and junk shops. The golden coating they share emphasises the sense of a treasured item from another time. Covered and gathered they display an inherent value despite being cast away when no longer valued individually.

 

I first found Nevelson's work when I was at school and instantly captivated by her impressive structures. 

 

Growing up in a home where nothing was thrown away, I would scavenge interesting bits of wood from piles of timber and broken furniture in my dad's workshop and in Nevelson's sculptures I could identify the balustrades and chair legs amidst the hand sculpted pieces. 

The way she used a single colour to envelope her carefully assembled finds into these impressive structures had a huge impact on me. Nevelson liked black paint because it conjured "totality, peace and greatness." 

Louise Nevelson Black Wall 1959. Painted wood 2642x2165x648mm

There is such sensitivity in her compositions.

 

 

As the New York was redeveloped in the 1950's Nevelson faced eviction from her home and studio. The partially demolished buildings left detritus left from everyday lives, and she found her materials in the debris.

Some of her arrangements like Black Wall,  remind me of the different people living in apartments.

Harking back to the crowded cities like New York I can imagine these wooden boxes as a neighbourhood of personalities housed in different rooms. 

A community is made up of individuals. Living next to each other, but separated by these divides they are shown that they are all one.

If you are one of those inside it you can only see yourself and the four walls around you. Only we can see they are all unified by being able to look at the whole thing from a wider perspective.

 

 

The new Material Worlds wing is free & on now at Tate Modern.

Metal Shadows of Rock

You may have seen from my Facebook status that I am lucky enough to be blogging from the British Museum today! 

This is such a wonderfully rich and inspiring atmosphere, but with so many amazing objects it can be overwhelming. So today I set myself a task to find and learn about just one single object in depth to share with you.

Squeak! Carved netsuke decoration at The British Museum.

Finding myself in the Chinese gallery, my attention was immediately drawn to a table of objects you could handle along with a friendly guide to explain their provenance. Amongst them a beautiful little netsuke mouse was curled into a shy ball and an ancient jade pendant was worn smooth in a shape of a fish, still perfect after thousands of years. But these were not the objects for my mission for today. I was surrounded by so many cabinets of intricate, exquisite treasures it took the sight of something completely different to made me stop in my tracks. It was a large shiny silver object, appearing amidst the antiquities as if it had fallen straight from another world and into the museum. But there was no visible hole in the roof or debris where this alien object had crash landed. And here it was this piece of sci-fi, presented carefully on a traditionally carved wooden plinth. This was a sculpture by the artist Zhan Wang.

Artificial Rock, number 82 by Zhan Wang. Polished stainless steel

"In the past, collectors displayed craggy rocks on their desks as objects of aesthetic appreciation. The rocks also allude to the mystic of mountains that were thought to be dwellings for men of pure thought."

Another steel sculpture by Zhan Wang - the artist also calls them "floating stones" .

Chinese scholars collected and revered unique rocks with beautiful shapes created through natural erosion. By displaying them in their working surroundings for their aesthetic value they also wished to be reminded of the mysticism of the mountains where men of "pure thought" were supposed to dwell. Their sculptural forms displaying positive and negative space were so admired that artisans tried to reproduce copies of these rocks in various materials, including jade, glass, and ceramic.

Zhan Wang forms his sculptures by moulding sheets of stainless steel around real rock formations. 

The artist says; "The material’s glittering surface, ostentatious glamour, and illusory appearance make it an ideal medium to convey new dreams.''

Zhan has also created his own personal universe by recording the sound made by exploding a giant boulder. Read more here

Zhan Wang's work often uses the use of simplistic object that serve a purpose of telling a complex idea. By using the industrial material stainless steel Zhan perfectly captures the organic shape of the original scholars rocks he forms his pieces around but with it's eerily perfect finish, too shiny for nature it's purpose is still that of internal as well as external reflection.

Summer Celebration Ring

Let's Celebrate!

Confetti Cake! Recipe can be found on Best Friends For Frosting.

My dear friend Natalie recently asked me to make her a ring for some summer parties she was going to. The dresses she had bought for these occasions were mostly a black background with splashes of gorgeous bright florals, perfect for dancing outside on balmy summer evenings, sipping champagne cocktails under colourful paper lanterns...

                                                                         Photo by Tanja Lippert Photography via Bridal Guide

These studio fragments selected for their corresponding colours look just like the bits of rock left at the bottom of a sweetie jar! 

To stand against the black Natalie wanted something in a happy, sunny, summery yellow, and we added flecks of colour in hand picked shades that would also highlight the floral details in the fabric.

Scattering confetti in celebration!

The finished ring, the coloured and metallic fragments appear like scattered confetti!

If you would like more information on having your own special ring made, get in touch! I'll be happy to answer your questions!  :)

You can email me at info@jademellor.com

Designpanoptikum - Surrealist Museum For Industrial Objects

The truth of objects: is it weirder than science fiction?

 Russian photographer Vlad Korneev's sculptures provide an eerie environment throughout the 10 rooms of his Designaoptikum allowing us two options: The first is as an art gallery casually soaking up the visual ensembles, the second is to use your brain by thinking and learning about the collection of objects housed within.

Some insight curiosity, some are unsettling but all have at least once provided some function. As intimidating as some of these look, there are no weapons in the museum, it is up to our own imaginations how we perceive them, and the structures Vlad has created make them unfamiliar, providing them with a new identity. He describes it as similar to Frankenstein's laboratory. To give you an idea, imagine of what kind of companions you might construct in your solitary survival of an apocalyptic event trapped inside the basement of an old department store.  

Many of the scariest looking devices were actually designed and built to help people, from learning how to resuscitate an accident victim to actually having a machine like an iron lung to breath for you for your entire life. As Vlad had said there are no objects intended to cause pain or destruction in his museum, but the huge metal box he had as an example of the treatment for polio was made after the First World War when Germany had nothing other than weapons so an iron lung was made from submarine parts.

During this visit to Berlin I also found myself inside the Museum of Medical History. This is not for the faint-hearted or those with a weak stomach (there were jars containing both of these) and I found myself in need of a stiff drink and some fresh air from my encounter here. There were no gimmicks or sensational presentations, just human specimens, historical facts and the real-life stories of individuals thus having a deeper effect than any Oscar nominated weepie or late night teen gore-fest. And the largest display of gallstones you will ever see.

Although unable to take photos in the Medical Museum I found the text from the introduction significant for both collections so I have included it here with  my images from the Designpanoptokum. 

"Objects generate effects. They may be just standing in a room, be obstacles in the way or displayed in a showcase. Their sheer presence, their explicit 'thingness" evokes feelings in the viewer. If we want to learn more about the objects, we usually need additional information about their inventors, producers, users, applied materials, age or distribution. The stories deriving from them may be manifold.  Frequently, however these stories remain undetected or undiscovered."

"Sometimes the objects fall into oblivion, lying in the dark corners of a museum's depot. The objects do not grant the curators a consultation hour. Nevertheless, we could interact with them further. They are sharp, colourful, fragile, pretty to look at, common, unique, useful, used, or unwieldy. "

"For a long time, only the respective museum curators were interested in these stories. To follow their own research and interests they developed an individual 'thing' expertise. Other people, however, would be able to tell quite different stories. Partly because of this, more and more researchers beyond the museum world have  turned to historical objects in recent times. They ask: what is our relationship with these things? What meaning do they have in our culture?" 

Here's the Designpanoptikum  Museum if you want to see it all for yourself! Torstraße 201, 10115 Berlin, Germany