Goldsmiths’ Fair reveals Best New Design Award (Week One)
LONDON, October 1, 2017 – Scottish jeweller Jonathan Boyd has won the Goldsmiths’ Fair 2017 (Week One) Best New Design Award for Weeds, a conceptually-driven series of works.
More than 50 gold-plated silver brooches tell the story of the life-cycle of a small flower – from a little seedling to a full flower blowing in the wind then slowly dying.
Boyd says: “The piece comes with animation of weed growing against the backdrop of Glasgow. Together, the brooches are frames of an animation but separately represent single moments in time.”
Announcing the prize, Rosy Greenlees, Executive Director of Crafts Council, the national agency for contemporary craft, drew attention to the work’s thoughtfulness and creativity. Boyd was delighted to receive the £1,000 prize and bottle of champagne.
Boyd holds a BA Hons Silversmithing & Jewellery from the Glasgow School of Art and an MA Jewellery & Metal from the Royal College of Art, London. In addition to making jewellery, he is a tutor at the Royal College of Art. His work forms part of various important UK collections including the V&A, London; the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh; as well as the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, USA; and the Spencer Museum of Art, Lawrence, Kansas, USA.
Jonathan Boyd, Weeds (detail), gold plated silver brooches Andrew Lamb was named runner-up for his new series of Lenticular Rings, which combine fine lengths of 18ct gold and silver while reflecting an interest in illusion and Op art’s mesmerising visual effects.
In one of Lamb’s new rings, black oxidised silver lines change to gold as the piece is tilted and rotated. In another, gold spots appear and disappear like magic as the piece is moved. These illusions create unexpected effects and give an added dimension to the work.
Further inspirations and influences range from textile patterns and structure, natural textures, and repetitive form and details.
Lamb says: “I’m fascinated by optics and seek to highlight imperfections in the way we see and the way we perceive. As my jewellery tilts and moves, the surfaces ripple and reflect, drawing the viewer into the illusion. Although there is a mathematical precision to the way I work, there is an organic flow and spontaneity within the surfaces I’m creating.”
Lamb has an MA in Goldsmithing, Silversmithing, Metalwork and Jewellery from the Royal College of Art, London as well as BA Hons Design and Applied Arts – Silversmithing and Jewellery from Edinburgh College of Art. An established designer-maker, he is currently a Part-Time Lecturer in Silversmithing and Jewellery at Glasgow School of Art.
Commissions and Collections include the V&A; Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums; The Alice and Louis Koch Collection; Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery; National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh; Galerie Marzee Collection – Nijmegen, The Netherlands; The Royal College of Art Collection, London, among others.
Andrew Lamb, Lenticular Stripes Ring, 18ct yellow, white gold and oxidised silver, 2017. Photography Graham Clark
