Smart works displays the inspirational work of over 40 Australian and New Zealand designers and makers. It explores the choices and challenges that each of these individuals has faced in putting their work into production, and what the handmade means to them in relation to contemporary design.

For these people, their understanding of materials and technologies is essential to the success of their designs. They value skills and many have made lifelong commitments to a materials-based practice, often making one-off or limited series work for a specialised marketplace at home and overseas. Audiences who seek their work also want tangible personal associations with objects, through the way they look and feel and through knowing who made them.

However, these designers and makers also like to design objects for production and Smart Works documents the many different ways in which they have researched solutions and made their decisions. It looks at the ways they are meeting the challenges and opportunities provided by their relatively small local markets, their distant location from others, and the varied manufacturing capabilities of their region.

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Curator: Grace Cochrane
Exhibitors:
Rod Bamford: NSW
Ceramic tableware; commissions; CAD and handmade; Australia and Asia
Jonathan Baskett: ACT
Glass, design in Australia, making in Mexico
Bison Australia, Brian Tunks: ACT
Ceramic tableware; local employment; global market
Les Blakebrough: Tas
Ceramic tableware; porcelain clay development
Donna-May Bolinger: NSW
Shoes and accessories, handmade and painted
Miranda Brown: NZ
Fashion, shibori-dyed and felted merino wool
Caravana, Cathy Braid & Kirsten Ainsworth: NSW/Pakistan
Fashion, working with women’s groups in Pakistan
Jeremy Cole: NZ/UK
suspended lights, handcast porcelain
Aurelio Costarella: WA
Fashion, handmade from vintage fabrics
Paul Davis/Jacqueline Clayton: NSW
Ceramic tableware, one-off to production
Janet DeBoos: ACT
Ceramic tableware, one-off to production, China, Italy
Designing Futures project, WA:
Malcolm Harris, Lighting; Chris Robins, Furniture
Dinosaur Designs: NSW
Louise Olsen, Stephen Ormandy, Liane Rossler:
Resin: homewares and jewellery; handmade production; global market
Benjamin Edols & Kathy Elliott: NSW
Glass, one-off and production
Ernabella Arts: SA
Ceramics: new production methods
Rugs: made in China; batik
Fieldmark, Andrew Haldane: NZ
Woolgrower; broadloom rugs; NZ and Poland
F!nk & Co: Robert Foster: ACT
Metalwork, one-off to production; design mentor
Jon Goulder: NSW/WA
Furniture, ply and upholstered, Australia and China
Gaffer Glass: John Croucher and John Leggott: NZ
From artist to industry: making glass for artists
Rex Heathcote: TAS
Timber furniture, trays; local employment
Höglund Art Glass: Ola Höglund & Marie Simberg-Höglund: NZ/Qld
Glass, one-off and production; local employment
Marian Hosking: Vic
Jewellery; handmade, contract components
Husque: Marc Harrison: Qld
Bowls, recycled materials, macadamia husks and resin
Akira Isogawa: NSW
Fashion, collaboration for handmade costumes for Sydney Dance Company
Vivienne Jablonski: NZ
Jacquard weaver, designing for Inter-Weave, NZ
Jill Kinnear: Qld
Textiles, digital prints from baggage X-rays
Andrew Last: NZ
Metalwork, handmade and CAD/CAM
Alex Lotersztain: Qld
Furniture design; also village industries in Africa, Philippines
Donna Marcus: Qld
Metal sculpture: found objects and industry
Nick Mount: SA
Glass, one-off and production
Rohan Nicol: NSW
Jewellery; metal accessories
Gilbert Riedelbauch: ACT
Silversmithing, rapid prototyping
Jennifer Robertson: ACT
Weaver, jacquard and handwoven; Italy and Japan
Ann Robinson, NZ
Cast glass, limited series
Oliver Smith: ACT
Metalwork; one-off to production, spoons, knives and bell research
Studio Hacienda: Blanche Tilden, Phoebe Porter, Vic
Jewellery, handmade and contracted components
Swinburne University: Vic
Lyndon Anderson, Lotars Ginters, Christine Thong
Timber research project; design working with science and industry
David Trubridge: NZ
Furniture and lighting; hand and CAD, contract components
Vixen, Georgia Chapman: Vic
Fashion and furnishing, screenprinted fabrics
Prue Venables: Vic
Ceramic tableware, one-off to production, Japan
Liz Williamson: NSW
Weaver, jacquard and handwoven; Australia, Canada, India

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.

Smart works: design and the handmade symposium and exhibition
Buy the Smart works book


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