Visitors bereft of Leeds City Art Gallery whilst major renovations temporarily take place, needn’t be as The Craft Centre and Design Gallery tucked away underneath their steps, launches a brand new series of exhibitions for the Spring season. Part of this exciting exhibition programme is ‘Another Life’; an exhibition of jewellery, sculptures and wall hung works by makers who reclaim, upcycle and re-invent materials and make them into beautiful contemporary craft pieces.
Renowned for their interesting seasonal exhibitions which explore specific themes, The Craft Centre’s latest offering aptly named ‘Another Life’, will be a real show stopper with handcrafted collections by some of the most innovative craftspeople in the UK today. The show starts on the 19th March and in the meantime visitors can be delighted by a brand new print exhibition by Mary Gillett and Tessa Asquith-Lamb, a fabulous Ceramic Showcase by Gin Durham exploring animals in fairy tales and an annual showcase of rings, not to mention Made with Love their popular exhibition celebrating the romance of British Craft (ends on the 12th March).
Yorkshire maker Joanne Tinker showcases her original recycled wall hung art for the first time with the gallery for this forthcoming attraction ‘Another Life’ and has been a collector of things for as long as she can remember. “I would fill shoe boxes with beads, stamps, butterflies and buttons. Today my studio is full of drink cans, sweet papers, foils, corks, bottle tops and bits of plastic from an assortment of packing.” Through a series of playful experiments Joanne transforms these normally ‘throw away’ materials into something that will be cared for, maybe work and treasured in a jewellery box or hung and admired on the wall as a piece of art. She loves the challenge of turning something old into new, something seen as beautiful or intriguing and hopefully something that will inspire others.
Also showcasing work at the gallery is Jennifer Collier whose work has led the way in the upcycling revolution in art and craft. A veteran maker of vintage material and investigating the re-used and recycled since 1999 Jennifer gives life to things that would otherwise go unloved or be thrown away. Every exquisite detail is made, folded and manipulated from paper. Once books, maps, envelopes, wallpaper or scrap, the paper is transformed into textural forms. Like cloth it is stitched to construct two or three dimensional objects, decorative and functional: lampshades, cameras, tools and furniture. The origin of the paper often provides a starting point for the artwork: the narrative of the books and papers suggesting idea and form. Jennifer is inspired by fairy tales, films, literature, music and nursery rhymes where the layers of paper and meaning together build the narrative.
For a full list of makers you can visit The Craft Centre and Design Gallery's website What’s On page
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