Online craft exhibitions to explore virtually this winter

22 January 2021

Get your culture fix to beat the lockdown blues

22 January 2021

Exhibitions

Grammar of Ornament India II, by London Art Fair exhibitor Frances Priest, incised ceramic with oxide wash, vitreous slip & glaze. Photo: Shannon Tofts. Courtesy: Cavaliero Finn

With our social calendars looking comically sparse for the foreseeable future (barring the weekly reminders to feed our sourdough starters), we’re resisting lockdown ennui by exploring these online craft exhibitions and events from around the UK.

London Art Fair: Edit

Returning for its 33rd edition, London Art Fair has swapped its usual venue at Islington’s Business Design Centre for a tightly curated digital format, with 20 works on view in each gallery’s ‘booth’. Visitors can browse and inquire about works in the virtual Viewing Rooms, which feature audio and written commentaries narrated by the galleries themselves. We’re eyeing up LAF’s online workshop programme where you can try your hand at a range of crafts – learn about the Japanese art of mending broken pottery from the ceramic artist Bonnie Kemske and kintsugi practitioner Iku Nishikawa, or explore traditional hand-embroidery techniques in a masterclass with artist-maker Richard McVetis.

Until 31 January; londonartfair.co.uk

Lapis Ring, by Michael Becker, 2019, gold, lapis lazuli. Courtesy: The Scottish Gallery
Untitled (detail), by Harry Morgan, 2019, concrete and glass. Photo: Shannon Tofts. Courtesy: The Scottish Gallery

The Scottish Gallery

The January blues: if you can’t beat them, why not revel in them? At least, that’s the thinking behind The Scottish Gallery’s group exhibition January Blues. From the rich tones of Michael Becker’s lapis lazuli jewellery to Harry Morgan’s architectural glass and concrete totems, there’s plenty of hidden pleasures to be found in the colour blue. With the show ‘closing’ soon, we’ve also got our eye on their upcoming exhibition Two Hemispheres, which, as the name suggests, will feature two artists working from opposite ends of the globe. Amanda Simmons presents a new series of glass vessels and wall pieces inspired by the land and sky observed during a series of residences in Australia, while basketmaker Lise Bech will show sculptural vessels made from Scottish willow, grown and hand-harvested near her home and studio in Fife.

January Blues, until 30 January; Two Hemispheres, 4-27 February; scottish-gallery.co.uk

Collect

We're excited to see off winter and herald spring with Collect art fair, which this year takes place online on its own Artsy microsite for a full month starting from 24 February. There are 30 galleries from across the world confirmed to date, spanning the US, Thailand, France, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, South Korea, Norway, China, Germany and the UK. In addition, a programme of free digital and virtual events, talks and tours from gallerists, artists, and leading figures across art, fashion and culture will take place on the Crafts Council’s own channels.

24 February – 24 March; collectfair.org.uk

Make Hauser & Wirth Somerset

While a trip to Hauser & Wirth’s craft gallery in Somerset may not be in the cards (for now, at least), you can enjoy its latest presentation online. A meditation on material, Gathering traces narratives in nature and landscapes through the work of four artist-makers, including papermaker Jane Ponsford, wood artist Mark Reddy, jewellery designer Romilly Saumarez Smith, and ceramicist Katie Spragg.

Until 13 February; hauserwirth.com

Detail of Surf ‘n’ Turf, by Elliot Walker. Courtesy: Messums London

Elliot Walker: Plenty

Glassmaker Elliot Walker is having a moment: the only UK artist to be competing in the new series of Netflix’s glassblowing TV show Blown Away, he is also opening his inaugural solo exhibition with Messums London. Plenty reflects on our culture of excess through sculptures inspired by 17th-century Dutch vanitas paintings, transforming familiar still-life objects – fruit, shellfish, meat, goblets – into ethereal glass vignettes. ‘I want to elevate the mundanity of glass and the consumables of the still life to becoming everlasting, crystallised and vitrified as if they have been caught by a volcano,’ he says.

26 January – 13 February; messumslondon.com

Sam Wyles, collection manager, installs a seal gut parka by Flora Nanuk (1925–2004) in the Citi exhibition Arctic: culture and climate at the British Museum, October 2020. © The Trustees of the British Museum

The British Museum

Our recent encounter with Sámi artists for the latest issue of Crafts magazine has us ever-inquisitive about the important role that craft plays for communities residing in inhospitable terrains. From beaded snow goggles to a waterproof whaling suit, Arctic: culture and climate at the British Museum is an exhilarating plunge into the ingenuity of the Indigenous peoples in the Arctic as they adapt to increasingly erratic weather patterns caused by climate change. Take an online tour of the exhibition, or step into the curator’s corner and discover how a handmade Alaskan parka can be the difference between life or death.

Until 21 February; britishmuseum.org

Maud & Mabel

One of the key principles of Japanese aesthetics, yūgen originates from Chinese philosophical texts, where the term describes the virtue of suggestion as opposed to revelation. A forthcoming online exhibition, Yūgen: Subtlety & Grace, at London gallery Maud & Mabel will explore the concept and application of yūgen, along with other principles of Japanese design. These artists (most of whom have never exhibited in the UK before) work across a range of mediums, techniques and styles, from Hideo Sawada’s wooden figures to abstract works by washi paper artist Wataru Hatano.

26 February – 7 March; maudandmabel.com

Jacqueline Brotherton Ratcliffe had her clothes tailor-made at Anna of Leeds. This bespoke wool, cotton and rayon garment made in 1951 was inspired by Dior’s New Look. Courtesy: Leeds City Museum

Leeds City Museum

Thanks to the Leeds City Museum you won’t need a DeLorean to travel back in time. Its exhibition Fast x Slow Fashion – available to view on a dedicated Google Arts & Culture hub – delves into the changing relationship between clothes shopping and people in Leeds, from 1720 to present day. While the museum is closed to the public, locals can instead follow a self-guided walking tour of Leeds, which takes in some of the historic clothes shops featured in the exhibition.

Extended through winter; museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk

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