What Colour Is Metal? Exhibition, presented by the National Design & Craft Gallery is launching in October at Dublin Castle

Ahead of the exhibition launch we invite you to join us for a series of Meet the Maker online talks, delivered in partnership by National College of Art & Design and the National Design & Craft Gallery.

Speakers Include

Meet the Makers: Session One Thursday 22nd April, 7pm With John Moore + Stuart Cairns

John Moore was born into a family of artists, and is based in Brighton, England. He holds a BA in 3D Design from Manchester Metropolitan University. He has exhibited at high profile fairs and exhibitions in the UK, Europe and the USA, including Masterpiece London; Design Miami; SOFA Chicago; MIART Milan; PAD Monaco; and PAD London. John has received a number of awards, most notably the Goldsmiths’ Company Award in 2016 and 2019. Works have been acquired by collections in the UK and the USA including The Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina; Tuan Lee Collection; and The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City. He is represented by Elisabetta Cipriani Gallery in London..

Stuart Cairns is based in Northern Ireland. He holds an MA in Silversmithing and Jewellery from the University of Ulster. He is a member of Contemporary British Silversmiths and is a part-time lecturer in the University of Ulster. Stuart has exhibited widely, including in Setting the Scene at Craft Study Centre, Farnham; Collect International Fair, London; Saatchi Gallery; Victoria & Albert Museum, London; 4th Biennale Internationale du Lin de Portneuf, Quebec; and Hämeenlinna, Finland. His work is held in public and private collections including the Arts Council of Northern Ireland; University of Ulster; and The Ulster Museum.

Meet the Makers: Session Two Thursday 29th April, 7pm With Jessica Turrell + Rebecca de Quin

Jessica Turrell was born in Bristol, England, and studied Jewellery Design at the Central School of Art and Design, London. She holds an MA in Multidisciplinary Printmaking from University of the West of England Bristol. She has taught at multiple educational institutions throughout the UK. Jessica has exhibited internationally including at Schmuck in Munich; JOYA Contemporary Jewellery Fair, Barcelona; and Premio Fondazione Cominelli exhibition, Italy, where she was Second Prize winner. Other awards include the Devon Guild of Craftsmen Award for Excellence in Enamel and an AHRC Fellowship in the Creative and Performing Arts. Jessica features in the Crafts Council UK and Fondazione Cominelli permanent collections.

Rebecca de Quin works from her London-based studio. She graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1990. She has combined her silversmithing practice with a career in teaching at a number of UK institutions; in 1998 she was appointed as a tutor in the Royal College of Art’s Department of Goldsmithing, Silversmithing, Metalwork and Jewellery. Rebecca’s work has been shown in major exhibitions at home and internationally. Forthcoming exhibitions include Mastery, Women in Silver at Ruthin Crafts Centre, Wales; and Colloquy 2022 at the Mary E Black Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is represented in several major collections including the Crafts Council; Birmingham Museum; and the Goldsmiths’ Company.

Meet the Makers: Session Three Thursday 6th May, 7pm With Peter Bauhuis + Roxanne Simone

Peter Bauhuis was born in Friedrichshafen, Germany, and lives and works in Munich. He studied at the Staatliche Zeichenakademie Hanau, and the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich. He lectures internationally and has taught for 10 years at Alchimia Contemporary Jewellery School in Florence. Since 2017 he has been a guest lecturer at Lucerne School of Art & Design, Switzerland. Peter has received numerous awards, most recently the Schoonhoven Silver Award in 2018 and was finalist for the Loewe Craft Prize 2020. His work is held by collections including The Koch Collection at Swiss National Museum; Victoria & Albert Museum; National Gallery of Victoria; Fonds National d’Art Contemporain; Museum of New Zealand; Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg; Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim; and National Museum, Oslo. Peter is represented by Gallery S O and Gallery Funaki.

Roxanne Simone is based in London, England. She completed her BA degree in Jewellery and Silversmithing from The School of Art, Architecture and Design in 2015. Simone was a recipient of the Gri in Scholarship for her MA studies at the Royal College of Art, from where she graduated in 2020; her MA project Visibility earned her the 16th Annual Theo Fennell Best Metal Award. She was also awarded the Goldsmiths’ Precious Metal Grant Award 2020/21; the British Jewellers’ Association Commendation for Jewellery Design and Making 2015; Resin 8 Commendation for Jewellery Techniques 2015: and The School of Art, Architecture and Design Designer of the People Award 2015. Simone has exhibited extensively in the UK as well as China, Egypt and Israel.

About What Colour Is Metal Exhibition, presented by the National Design & Craft Gallery Curated by Sara Roberts and Coilin O’Dubhghaill.

This exhibition is a consideration of the relationship between metal and colour in contemporary silversmithing and jewellery, with a mapping of relationships and practice in key centres internationally. It examines approaches ranging from colour achieved using the inherent properties of metal to react with other chemicals or heat (or a combination); the reveal of colour as a property of the metal itself; infusing the surface of aluminium with pure colour or image; the use of enamel glazes with varying degrees of transparency and opacity - but always with a fundamentally strong relationship with the surface qualities of the metal.

Through seminal works by key international practitioners, it places artist practice in a broader context, tracing international information exchanges. It considers routes to support learning patination at all levels: from schools to professional studios; from undergraduates to specialists in conservation. what colour is metal? makes vivid the connections between innovative studio practice and historic techniques, and furthermore looks to the future and profiles potential adaptations for industry. It examines notions of value, and the changes in assay regulations which have allowed a freer approach to combining precious and base metals within a single work. The possibilities for achieving colour modulations and sometimes startling colour were seemingly endless. The democratisation of the information occurred at a time when notions of precious were being re-examined, and led to a surge in the application of colour; on jewellery and vessels, but more widely in architectural practice, in mid-scale applications such as furniture and interior surfaces. It has been described by Martina Margetts as “a paradigm of the transformation of the aesthetics and creative possibilities in the last quarter of the twentieth century.”

About National College of Art & Design The National College of Art and Design occupies a unique position in art and design education in Ireland, offering the widest range of art and design degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level. The College's campus is situated in Thomas Street, in the historic Liberties area of Dublin. In 1998 the College opened its new wing, the School of Design for Industry, and now houses all of its activities on the Thomas Street campus or nearby.