Welcome to NewsFile, your resource for top pots, news-y shards and current events from the world of contemporary ceramic art and contemporary ceramics. We launch this edition with a new project by author and ceramist Edmund de Waal.
Edmund de Waal’s New Installation
Edmund de Waal will install a major new two-part installation work in the 500-year-old Jewish Ghetto coinciding with 58th Venice Biennale, The Art Newspaper reports.
Titled psalm, a project statement explains the installation will feature porcelain, marble and gold, and even a small building that will house 2,000 books by exiled writers, from Ovid to the present day. The works will reflect the literary and musical heritage of area.
“This is the project I have always dreamed of doing. It is about exile; what it means to have to move to another country, to speak another language. It brings new installations based on the Psalms, the poetry of exile, into some of the most beautiful spaces of the Ghetto.”
Edmund de Waal
Part of the installation will go on view at Canton Scuola, the beautiful 16th-century synagogue in the Ghetto Nuovo, which is now part of the Jewish Museum. The building will be based at the Ateneo Veneto, the 15th-century building near the Fenice Opera House, May 7 – September 29, 2019.
Read more here.
Andrew Levitt’s Listening to Design
Listening to Design leads readers into the unique world of the creative process. Drawing on his experience as a teacher, psychotherapist and architect, Andrew Levitt breaks down the creative process, from the moment an idea appears through to the final presentation of a project. Using stories, examples and insights, Levitt offers a rarely seen glimpse into the rich and often turbulent creative process of a working designer. He highlights the importance of active listening and the essential role of empathy in solving problems and overcoming obstacles, revealing how the process of design is a vehicle for personal growth and development.
“Listening to Design offers a rare insight into the psychology of the design process, particularly the special relationship that exists between tutor and student. Levitt is a wonderful storyteller whose tales will be relevant to those in all fields of design, as well as the general reader interested in creativity. Through his immersion in the way of design thinking, Levitt gives us an eloquent and sympathetic portrait of the design community—its poignancy, frustrations, and pleasures.”
Gregory Votolato, course director and lecturer, Victoria & Albert Museum; tutor, Royal College of Art
RCA’s New Battersea Building
Construction is underway at the Royal College of Art’s Battersea South Campus’ new state-of-the-art building, the college states.
The building will open in autumn 2021 as part of a £108 million investment programme that will secure the RCA’s future in Battersea and deliver new studios, workshops and incubator units to support the College’s future.
RCA
Designed by Herzog & de Meuron, the building will sit alongside the RCA’s existing Dyson, Woo and Sackler Buildings.
Read more here.
100 Porcelain Elephants
British ceramic artist Charlotte Mary Pack raced against the clock December 4, 2018 fabricate 100 porcelain elephants in 24 hours. Now why would anyone rise to such a challenge?
The artist set out to raise awareness of the fact that it’s estimated that 100 elephants are killed every day on Wildlife Conservation Day, DesignBoom reports.
She wishes to create a visual impact, and use the universal language of craft as a way to engage the public, provoke a reaction and raise awareness of our dwindling wildlife.
DesignBoom
Watch Pack in action below:
Follow Pack on Instagram.
Material Matters comes to Cfile.Daily
Artist and author Edmund de Waal is one of the first makers to appear on Material Matters, the new podcast from the British design writer and critic Grant Gibson. Over the course of six 30-minute interviews, the former Blueprint and Crafts editor talks to different designers, artists and makers about their relationship to a particular material or technique with which they’re intrinsically linked.
Conducted in the subject’s workshop – rather than in a studio – listeners find out how they came to be involved with the material in the first instance, what they love about it, and how their relationship with it has developed over time. Importantly too, this initial discussion is used as a springboard to talk more widely about their career and lives.
“Real conversation about making is rare. Grant Gibson’s new series is a wonderful way to overhear passionate and informed discourse. I’m honoured to be part of this first series.”
Edmund de Waal
Series one of Material Matters also features artist Celia Pym on textiles; wood turner Eleanor Lakelin on timber; designer Bill Amberg on leather; and Peter Layton on glass. Meanwhile in a special bonus recording Gibson talks to New York-based curator and critic Glenn Adamson about his new book Fewer Better Things.
Cfile.Daily will be posting these podcasts periodically to ensure easy listening access.
Stay tuned and keep checking back in as we’ll continue to update our NewsFile with the latest happenings from the world of contemporary ceramic art and contemporary ceramics.
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