Artisan Handmade celebrates the art of handmade, this showcase features limited edition and one-of-a-kind pieces by contemporary Australian makers. We invite you to explore thoughtfully crafted pieces made locally and sustainably which combine the imagination and skill of their makers.
James Lemon is a New Zealand born artist working from Northcote, Melbourne. He explores and experiments with clay as a generative activity to develop works that are sculptural and functional. His signature handmade functional wares are highly tactile, playful and dynamic objects. While they are produced via traditional production methods of throwing, they are also warped to express movement and gesture.
Lemon’s functional ceramics are comprised of stoneware ‘vessels’ with highly gestural surface abstraction. These upscaled and warped traditional forms challenge notions of functionality inherent to these objects and expose the material as the agent, a celebration of materiality. Moments of bodily intervention are captured in the pliable and unforgiving forms and then used as canvases for painterly abstraction.
Kate Rohde’s ornate and decorative sculptures are exuberant re-imaginings of the historical art and design of the Baroque and Rococo periods. Her other-worldly resin and plasticine vases, jewellery and mythical creatures evoke a realm of the imagination at its most fantastical. Drawing on design history, her work is a vehicle for cultural and social critique of the value of ornament in contemporary culture.
Kate Rohde’s work has been included in major exhibitions at the National Gallery of Victoria, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Art Gallery of South Australia and Craft Victoria and is included in numerous public and private collections.
Makiko Ryujin’s Shinki series of burnt vessels draws on her Japanese heritage. The works are informed by the cultural ceremony of burning traditional Daruma dolls, a ritual she observed as a child. The ceremony is rich in symbolism and is undertaken to mark both an end and a beginning; a demarcation of time that allows new plans to be reborn.
An exploration of the ways her vessels change shape as the green wood dries after turning and, then, burning, is central to Ryujin’s creative practice. Mentored by master craftsman and furniture maker Carl Lutz, Ryujin’s exquisite vessels shift perceptions of traditional woodworking techniques, inspiring a new generation of designer–makers to explore the craft.
Cassie Leatham is from the Taungurung / Wurundjeri people from the Kulin Nation. She is an Indigenous artist, master weaver, traditional dancer, bushtukka woman and educator. Cassie is self taught and influenced by stories from her Elders. These woven bags are based on traditional fishing net weaving techniques that she learnt from her grandfather.
William Llewellyn Griffiths has gained an international reputation for his eclectic style which captures elements of tattoo art, gothic architecture and the baroque period. Born to an artist and inventor, William is a self-taught jeweller and began his career in London over 30 years ago. His unique gothic revival jewellery has been exhibited in Europe, Japan, the US and New Zealand and he has worked with some of the biggest names in fashion, including Vivienne Westwood, Dolce & Gabbana and the late Alexander McQueen.
William uses precious metals and gems, hand worked into what he describes as a "potent cocktail" of pieces that have "an allure of danger, romance and unholy reverence."
Lisa Waup x Verner: these vibrant pieces are the result of a collaboration between award-winning Gunditjmara and Torres Strait Island artist Lisa Waup and designer Ingrid Verner. Lisa has developed a distinctive weaving, textile and printmaking practice and works across media incorporating layers or elements that symbolise layers of history and story.
Fusing art and fashion, the garments draw from a strong tradition of language and symbols and reference Waup’s monochromatic print-based work. This new collection represents journeys through history, family and friendship and the connection to country, past, present and future. Three three original works by Waup – ‘Continuity’, ‘Tracing History’ and ‘Eyes of our Ancestors’ - were drawn upon to build the series.