“I have been to hell and back, and let me tell you it was wonderful.” Throughout her 70 year career Louise Bourgeois made art as a catharsis, expressing her most intimate fears and anxieties. Though deeply personal, her frank, open language has a universal quality, explaining why she has become such a world renowned artist…
Category Archives: PIONEERS
“I live life in the margins of society, and the rules of normal society don’t apply to those who live on the fringe.” In Tamara de Lempicka’s world women are fierce, independent and effortlessly stylish. Today her highly collectable paintings are potent symbols of a bygone era, capturing the sensuous glamour and decadence of the…
“Feet – what do I need them for if I have wings to fly?” Frida Kahlo is a timeless icon, a great storyteller who weaved personal tragedy with fantasy and Mexican folklore to produce enduring images that speak of the universal human condition. In her lifetime her stunning, exquisitely detailed paintings seldom sold, yet today…
“A spark of the spirit lives in us, it is connected with all spirit. It is divine. It is drawn to other, similar sparks. This is the urge to creation.” Natalia Goncharova was an explosive force of creativity, encapsulating the wild spirit of avant-garde Russia with painting, printmaking, performance and design. Throughout her long, prolific…
“I’ve always been absolutely terrified every single moment of my life … and I’ve never let it stop me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.” Fleshy, voluminous flowers that spread open like wings or petals that curl into tendrils of fire: these are the images that made Georgia O’Keeffe an icon of…
“The macho art world has ignored the contribution of women. But we have the power to change this.” [1] Art history can be a tricky, slippery construct to build; the broad frameworks we so often see sketched out in major publications or art museums rarely give us the whole picture. Many vital, influential figures throughout…
From curling leaf tendrils to jagged wildflowers and scrawny weeds, growing forms were prevalent throughout the Arts and Crafts era, which was firmly rooted in nature. Such imagery came to epitomise the movement, which rejected depersonalised industry in favour of the natural and organic, celebrating our deep human need to connect with the natural world….
The naturalistic, floral patterns of the Arts and Crafts movement are such a firm favourite with the British establishment that it is easy to forget the idealistic, rebellious roots of the style revolution. Angered by the demoralising effects rising industry and mass production was having on British society at large, writer John Ruskin, designer William…
“Nothing should be made by man’s labour that is not worth making.” William Morris In this new series we will explore some of the key ideas behind the iconic and hugely influential British Arts and Crafts Movement, a widespread phenomenon of the late 19th and early 20th century that continues to shape the world we…
Every age has its legends. Stories of people who go above and beyond in the cause of justice and hope. People who sacrifice their lives for what they deem to be right. A thousand years ago it was Lancelot and Robin Hood, today it is Batman and Wonder Woman… and Robin Hood – let’s be…
There is a sparkling lightness of touch associated with Raoul Dufy’s practice, one that defines the joi de vivre of the Parisian Belle Epoque era he was raised in. One of his most popular quotations, “my eyes were made to erase all that is ugly,” reveals his inclination towards the decorative and beautiful, or the…
In this new series, we will explore three revolutionary artists who have crossed over from the art world into textiles and fashion, delving into the obstacles they faced and what led them to pursue commercial ventures. Art and fashion: two distinct industries, yet their divide is more porous today than ever. Many of today’s contemporary artists…
Well, usually we do good guys, but every once in a while you have to let the bad guys out to play (for artistic purposes of course!). With Halloween coming up, we decided to let our creative juices flow to the spooky side! The most iconic bad guys in film and literary history always have…
Sometimes inspiration comes from giant mountain vistas, breathtakingly beautiful music or deep-felt emotions. Other times it comes from a very specific shade of blue. Yes, it is nothing epic to look at, but when I ordered three yards of Blue Bayou fabric, it changed my life. Honestly, I had no plans for the fabric, I…
Does sudden inspiration ever strike you at the strangest of times? I was in the workshop last month working on a project with one of our team members, Sarah, when two words that I had heard together for years finally clicked. They were, “Jedi Knights”. Of course, we all know what Jedi Knights are: the…
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