Gallery 1 & 3

Basketry

Function & Ornament 

Laura Ellen Bacon, Lise Bech, Dail Behennah, Mary Butcher, Mandy Coates, John Cowan, Mary Crabb, Jane Crisp, Jenny Crisp, Alison Dickens, Lizzie Farey, Rosie Farey, Eddie Glew, Charlie Groves, Stella Harding, Joe Hogan, Peter Howcroft, Tim Johnson, Anna King, Annemarie O’Sullivan, Rachel Max, Sarah Paramor, Dominic Parrette, Polly Pollock, Ruth Pybus & David Brown, Clare Revera, Lorna Singleton, Maggie Smith, Lois Walpole

A truly ancient craft, Basketry still adheres to its basic principles and methods of construction, albeit in myriad forms. Contemporary practitioners combine materials and techniques, using both traditional and modern ways of making to spectacular effect. Basketry: Function & Ornament looks at current practice of some thirty makers from throughout the UK. It brings together functional vernacular work from various parts of the country, alongside pieces that are sculptural and ornamental. It is a survey of a craft that has been somewhat sidelined in times of great technological advances, yet offers a sustainable answer to so much of our modern day throw-away habits.

Curated by Gregory Parsons.