Arcila - Duque in collaboration with The Craft Council of England are pleased to announce the exhibition:
FORM AND FUCTION
Form and Function is an attempt to show the work of artists involved in what has been called Functional Art: An extremely vital movement that introduces a new and enriching way to see art from an attitude both contemplative and utilitarian.
This exhibition shows only a fraction of a very large number of young talented artists from London involved in the movement. It has been a privilege working closely with them and I hope you share my enthusiasm; Scandinavian cities, Milan, and Barcelona... will follow. So will the excitement.
JUAN CARLOS ARCILA-DUQUE
CURATOR
THE artists represented in this exhibition signal new challenges within the field of contemporary arts in England. Their work is no only at the cutting edge of the applied arts but at the innovative alignment between craft, art, design, engineering and industry.
Quite clearly, their work comes from a tradition and perhaps their influences are multi-layered and more or less apparent. What is for sure, is that the work is fresh and alive and conducive to a broader cultural seachange taking place in the UK today.
It maybe that the work we see of them now will not only be the work we see of them tomorrow, that is the nature of the business we are in, but for me the excitement is in registering the now and speculating (or just waiting for) the what next.
I've very much enjoyed this brief and mostly distant collaboration with the curator of the Exhibition "Form and Function" Juan Carlos Arcila-Duque who has the energy to make things happen quickly. His passion for art comes over in a way that one cannot deny commitment.
I think the Generous Miracles Gallery is an exciting new space, fitting for the work of the artists selected.
ALAN HAYDON
CRAFTS COUNCIL OF ENGLAND
DIRECTOR OF CRAFTS DEVELOPMENT
BRITAIN offers a schizophrenic design environment - a wealth of art schools turn out a wealth of design talent, in a country where manufacturing industry has all but disappeared. Young designers, unable to pursue a protected career in a manufacturing company, are left to their own devices and it is maybe unsurprising that many of them follow a creative path, working in their own studios and playing with new ideas in a remarkably uncompromised way. For those wishing to go into big production, and mass-market design, Britain is a desert. But for those who want to pursue creative dreams, it is a hothouse supporting an energetic cross-pollination between artists and designers.
There is no strictly cohesive Functional Art movement in London, but there is no doubt that a group of talented young designers can be described as functional artists. From those who play tricks with ready-made in order to create new objects redolent with old associations, to hose who challenge our well-grounded ideas of just what furniture should look like, and others who establish materials and exploit them is surprising ways, certain designers are not content simply to produce pieces that work. Their mission is equally to question the very world in which they work,, and to challenge the norms of design. Their work involves intriguing explorations into new and different materials and they reject many of the givens which have log underpinned the way furniture should look and behave. The result are pieces of design that often behave in the domestic space like pieces of art. But besides being objects of beauty and/or curiosity, they also have the added value of being things that can be used and contribute in a functional and efficient way to daily life.
It is the energy and creativity of this work that brought it to the attention of Juan Carlos Arcila-Duque, director o Generous Miracles. The gallery, a recent arrival in New York’s up and coming art area, Chelsea, is housed in a spectacular space on the eighth floor of an industrial building, and Arcila-Duque, himself a furniture designer, is determined that it be used to showcase unexpected and innovative work, Its first three shows have introduced to New York the work of those from outside the United States: young painters from Rome; conceptual photography by practitioners of Cuban origin; and contemporary art from Korea.
Continuing the gallery’s aim, to review dynamic global art Generous Miracles fourth exhibition focuses on the innovative work of four London-based designers - Michael Anastassiades, Mary Little, Cristina Lamiquiz and Ultimate Scream - all of whom might be descried as producing functional art.
For anyone interested in new directions in design, and in objects whose value goes beyond mere surface, this is an essential show to see.
CAROLINE ROUX
