Coming Soon
Simone ten Hompel 08.10.10 - 06.11.10 Focus Artists (downstairs) |
Contemporary Applied Arts is delighted to host an exhibition of new work and classic pieces by celebrated craftsperson Simone ten Hompel. Winner of the Jerwood Prize – the most prestigious prize in British contemporary applied art, this is ten Hompel’s first UK solo show since the Jerwood exhibition. This landmark series of work is focused around spoons, jars and storage containers. Mainly produced in silver, but also in non-precious materials including felt, wood, alabaster and mixed metals, each object’s function is debated using references to memory and conscious thought. These objects act as memory triggers relating to learnt skills from childhood and the interaction between ourselves and these familiar objects.
Industrial, yet anciently-inspired jars recall the expectation, excitement and even the disappointment related to a childhood jar of sweets. A collection of spouts are ghost-like and lonesome having been decapitated from their bottle bodies and naked without their lids.
The iconic spoon has a particularly special place in ten Hompel’s exploration. Embedded with meanings of class, childhood, death and civilization itself, ten Hompel presents us with one hundred and eight spoons, and like all of her work the spoons ask us to engage with them intellectually, emotionally and physically. While often verging into the realm of fine art, pieces always have a reference to functionality, even if there is only a small suggestion of practicality.
German-born ten Hompel has been working with metal for over thirty years. Having initially studied and trained in jewellery and silversmithing in Germany, it wasn’t until studying in London at the Royal College of Art that it became clear that metalwork was her calling. Since then ten Hompel has carved out a distinguished career as one of Britain’s most critically acclaimed craftspeople.