24 Hour Museum - official guide to UK museums, galleries, exhibitions and heritage
Gateway to Over 3,000 UK museums, galleries and heritage attractions
Skip to navigation
Out There - Exterior Living For Summer At Crafts Council Gallery
18/06/2003
Photo: Archway into Woodland by Laura Bacon. Image courtesy of the Crafts Council.
With the month of May well and truly behind us, thoughts inevitably float out of the window to freshly cut grass, bright blue skies, barbeques and garden furniture.
And as any old garden centre will tell you, there are plenty of solutions available for the outwardly mobile. But if you're after something a bit different to complement your strawberry planter, the Crafts Council's Summer exhibition is the place to be this season.
Out There - Craft for Exterior Living, at the Crafts Council Gallery in Islington, London until August 3, offers an eclectic collection of designs for even the most discerning gardeners.
Photo: 108 Egos by Yumi Nozaki. Image courtesy of the Crafts Council.
From the purely functional to the downright sculptural, the show displays work designed to dress up anything from a rambling country garden or urban yard to a tiny balcony or sprawling forecourt.
"Out There is a timely exhibition responding to the British passion for the great outdoors," explained Claire West, Director of Artistic Programming and Information.
"This is an ideal opportunity to see some of the most innovative work currently being produced."
Although the work on display in this open submission show can be bought via the gallery shop, it represents the cutting edge of contemporary arts and crafts.
Image: Shows an outdoor photograph of Fallen Nest, a wicker bowl attached to a tree.
Photo: Fallen Nest by Laura Bacon. Image courtesy of the Crafts Council.
Taking in a range of disciplines, the exhibitors deploy such diverse methods and materials as textiles, metalwork, glass, sculpture, letter carving, lighting and furniture.
Yet despite this all-inclusive approach, the idea behind the show is very much one of using these techniques to produce work that harmonises with external environments, while fulfilling some kind of functional purpose.
Yumi Nozaki's multiple glass vessels are like a series of delicate flowers, while Jim Partridge's wave benches prove that practical requirements can be met by today's contemporary craft.
Photo: Allium by Ruth Moilliet. Image courtesy of the Crafts Council.
At the same time Ruth Moilliet's large-scale metal sculptural globes imitate the natural world and Wolfgang and Heron's spiral lights are a subtle complement to it.
While some of the makers are well-established figures in the crafts world, the exhibition is also a chance to discover new talent with many exhibitors showing at the Crafts Council gallery for the first time.
The works have been selected by a panel of experts including Victoria Farrow, Chief Executive at the Museum of Garden History and Chris Royffe, Assistant Dean and Head of School at The Leeds School of Art, Architecture and Design.
Crafts Council
The Crafts Council, 44A Pentonville Road, Islington, London, N1 9BY, England
Open: closed for refurbishment until end 2006
Related Articles
Quick! Last Chance To See Knit 2 Together At The Crafts Council Gallery
The Crafts Council Finds Boys Who Sew For New Exhibition
E-news registration
E-mail story to a friend
Tell us what you think
Mark Leckey Scoops £25,000 And The 2008 Turner Prize
Library Thief Update: Sentencing Adjourned Until January 16, 2009
Fund Aims To Realise Long Campaign For Cardiff Museum
Britglyph Art Campaign Uses Web To Make Mass Geoglyph
Inaugural Awards Ceremony Honours UK Arts Philanthropists
Rare Silver Cup Commemorating Coronation Of Charles II Is Saved For The Nation
London Fire Brigade Museum Escapes Closure - For Now
Another Busy Year For Archaeology On Orkney In 2008
Severndroog Castle To Be Restored Thanks To Lottery Grant
Campaign To Save Captain Scott's Hut Needs Another £65,000
Open Air Lab Project Launches At The Natural History Museum
Gravity Defying Vertical Racer Drives Kids Up the Wall At MOSI
DCMS And English Heritage List Seven London Bridges
Railway Museums Launch Joint WWII Railway Worker Project
Bowes Museum Famous Mechanical Swan Goes Back On Show In December
Free Admission To Historic Scotland Sites For St Andrew's Day
Fund Raising Scheme Is Backing Great North Museum: Hancock
Tyneside Gallery Plots New Display After Funding Victory
Search this site
Home Page
News Page
Exhibition Page
What's On
Trails Page
Website of the Week
Letters Page
Welsh Home
Graphical Version
Copyright © 24 Hour Museum
Information published here was believed to be correct at the time it was prepared. Welsh language pages developed with CYMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.