British Art Show 8 comes to Inkwell- Learn to weave with Agnis Smallwood…

If you haven’t already heard about British Art Show 8, now is your chance to find out all about this spectacular exhibition and the ways in which you can get involved!

British Art Show 8 is a Haywood Touring Exhibition, which is on display in Leeds Art Gallery until the 10^th of January, before the show hits the road again and heads up to Edinburgh. The exhibition includes the work of over 40 contemporary artists working in Britain; their work is an eclectic mixture of everything from video installations to painting, sculpture and immersive experiences echoing throughout the gallery. The show really does have it all; from Stuart Whipps’ 1275 Mini to Broomberg and Chanarin’s tapestry entitled ‘Every piece of dust on Freud’s Couch’, which is exactly that. There’s an enormous fibreglass egg from which a plasma screen has emerged, and Linder’s luscious gun-trufted rug. I could continue, but this exhibition is certainly one you have to see for yourself!

Much of the work throughout the exhibition focuses on the transience of objects within our digital era. Artists have explored the idea of change, semi-permanence, re purpose, recreation and the process of altering the state of an object. While many of the artworks involve quite technical materials and processes, Martino Gamper’s work gets back to basics, exploring ideas of traditional craft and the relationships we form with objects.

Martino Camper, interview | British Art Show 8 | Leeds Art Gallery | 7 October 2015 from studio international on Vimeo.

Martino’s multidisciplinary practice focuses on the diversity of design; he gives old objects new lives through re purposing, such as this bespoke chair design.

Below the chair are a couple of examples of Martino’s other skill – shoe cobbling. There is even an opportunity to hand your own shoes in for Martino to repair your soles using his quirky blue triangle trademark. Along with this novelty, Martino’s Pro Forma project has enabled the Art Gallery to run a series of workshops teaching skills of chair caning, book binding and weaving. There is even a functional loom installed in the gallery which is used for workshops! Please see the poster below for details on upcoming craft workshops at the Art Gallery.

You are invited…

If you’ve not yet made it to one of the workshops then we have some good news for you… Inkwell are hosting a weaving workshop with Agnis Smallwood. As part of the community events hosted through Martino’s project, we have been selected for a group weaving workshop this Tuesday the 1^st of December from 10:30 until 12:30pm. This is your chance to learn some traditional weaving skills and enjoy a friendly group session. The workshop is completely free and open to anyone who is interested. We hope to see you there!