Beau Bookbinding at Shepherds Falkiner...

Sweet Thames Run Softly London Bookbinding Exhibition

 Shepherds Falkiners
30 Gillingham Street, London SW1V 1HU
19th August – 1st September, 2014

 London Bookbinding had the absolute privilege of joining forces with Shepherds to host a fantastic exhibition ‘Sweet Thames Run Softly’ where there are no rules…

The exhibition is non-competitive – no winners and no prizes - and the brief was open to different designs, styles and levels of competency. And the result? The exhibition was an exciting mix of contemporary bindings with each design a unique response to the book ‘Sweet Thames Run Softly’ – a book produced by Richard Gibbings (an expert in book production) based on a voyage of the Thames.

I found it not only an interesting exhibition with a lot of creativity and experimentation, but also very encouraging as entering a competition can be very daunting to a beginner. I thought that each book was well thought out with a lot of attention to the small details and keeping in mind the content of the original book.

You can also visit the website here www.sweetthames.wordpress.com and, with tips and tricks, it is a great resource if you would like to start bookbinding yourself. Why not try your own binding!

A book of the exhibition is available to download at www.Blurb.co.uk

If you are keen on bookbinding and would like to participate in any future exhibitions sign up to the Society of Bookbinders newsletter which you can do on their website www.societyofbookbinders.com

If you wish to practice and learn new bookbinding skills, you can also go to Shepherds bindery which provides a lot of different and amazing bookbinding courses!

Beau Bookbinding at Tate Modern..

Henri Matisse The Cut-Outs - 17th April - 7th September

Today I visited the cut out king and see his incredible show of energetic, colourful and beautifully constructed collages.

Process driven and experimental, Matisse’s artistic approach and medium changed from painting to cut-outs and collage in the last 17 years of his life. Although he had developed this style due to health problems, the size and scale of his works are incredibly ambitious. Matisse’s approach was to work intensively and some of his works were completed within 2 days.

Fluid and organic yet bright and expressive Matisse’s collages transform the space into a place that feels alive. How the artwork is arranged is almost a ‘curio’ of Matisse’s distinctive organically shaped algae-like leaf forms, and going from room to room within the exhibition feels like exploring and finding a new species. The smaller collages are arranged closely together and almost animate the white walls with vibrant colours and shapes.

It was amazing to see the open pages of his book next to the original collage for ‘Jazz’ and see the texture of the collage next to the printed pages of the book his notes. Matisse’s handwriting is a beautiful accompaniment to his energetic collages, and the book is presented extensively and in detail across the room. There is also a room dedicated to his designs for books and periodicals which I would highly recommend visiting if you are interested in book design and bookbinding.

This exhibition is huge and shows a lot of Matisse’s work during these 17 years – from little collages to massive constructions – it is worth every penny to see these works in person. ‘Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs’ is open from the 17th April – 7th September 2014, so don’t miss this amazing show!

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/henri-matisse-cut-outs

Beau Bookbinding at the British Museum..

Germany divided Baselitz and his generation

Recently I stumbled upon a great collection full of post war prints, paintings, drawings and collages. ‘Germany divided 
Baselitz and his generation’ is a generous dose of neo-expressionist art and the collection itself acts as a record of the social attitudes and split ideologies of East and West Germany after the Second World War. 

The works, from 6 different artists including Georg Baselitz, denote the experiences of being a citizen in East and West Germany and growing up during the aftermath of the war. Trained in the East and then developing careers in the West, the works of these artists provide an interesting insight into German life as a whole when the country was physically and politically divided.

The works were varied and with different techniques and media and one of my favourite pieces were Blinky Palermo’s drawings. As a lot of his work was temporary, Palermo recorded a lot of his sculptures and wall paintings through drawing and I think these sketches are fantastic. 

Another piece I liked was Gerhard Richter’s ‘Atlas’ sheets. Richter had collected and captured images of the sky and landscape and organized them neatly on a page for his personal archive he named ‘Atlas’.  His paintings were based from these collages and played on the idea of personal and public memory.

The exhibition is a collected record and examination of post-war Germany and as some of the works are drawings, records and works in progress there is a real sense of an artist trying to understand the recent history of their country. 

It is a fantastic exhibition and I would recommend visiting if you are interested in post-war art and creative processes. 

‘Germany divided
 Baselitz and his generation’ is open until 31st August at the British Museum. 

The British Museum
Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 3DG

http://www.britishmuseum.org

Beau Bookbinding at Clerkenwell Design Week..

With so much to see  and explore, visit Clerkenwell Design Week for an epic mix of letterpress, printing, furniture, homeware, architecture, fabrication and interior design. Here are a few things I liked the most:

Vitra have a fantastic exhibition called ‘Tailor My Tom Vac’ open until the 22nd May 2014, with 20 responses from different architecture and design studios exploring the same brief: ‘to explore both novelty and memory in design, art and architecture.’ Each response to re-designing the Tom Vac chair was a wonderful surreal creation with each chair becoming an individual piece of art that you could play with! Vitra’s playful and creative space is an eclectic mix of eccentric chairs, floating illuminated clouds and a secret garden and is well worth visiting before Clerkenwell Design Week ends. You can find Vitra on Clerkenwell Road

InHouse are a fantastic fabrication service that helps customers develop and produce their three dimensional dreams from concept to completion through laser cutting and 3d printing. Both guys were lovely to talk to and if you like the idea of seeing different examples of prototyping and products (complete with 3d printer!) then visit them on Berry Street.

Amongst the gadgets was a fantastic return to old craftsmanship with an interactive letterpress exhibition. Harrington & Squires Letterpress produce beautifully printed tactile prints using a press and good old fashioned moveable type, and were incredibly friendly and enthusiastic about their craft. As they were only exhibiting for one day you can find them at their studio at 136a Fortress Road NW5 2HP.

La Fabbrica produce stylish and beautiful porcelain tiles with embossed patterns and digitally printed designs with marble motifs directly printed onto the porcelain. The tiles were beautifully crafted and unique in their manufacturing process and you can visit them at the Detail exhibition in St. John’s Square.

If you would like to see some wonderful products and speak to the designers who made them, then pop along to the crypt and immerse yourself in interesting mix jewellery and homeware products.

For more information about Clerkenwell Design Week visit http://www.clerkenwelldesignweek.com/ and register to access the different showrooms and exhibitions. It is open from 20th -22nd May 2014 and is spread out, so be sure to grab a map and explore all the little roads in Clerkenwell.