Francis Kyle branching into craft
Artichoke, Psiché Hughes, stoneware, 2005
The Francis Kyle Gallery is branching out into contemporary craft this June with a double whammy of stoneware and mixed media constructions (until 18 June)
‘We plan to broaden our range by bringing work of significant ceramicists and sculptors to the attention of our public’, says Francis Kyle. And so, perhaps bravely for a gallery specialising in painters, they are putting on two concurrent shows featuring work by artists who very definitely work in the craft sphere. Steven Hubbard’s work is a cross between sculpture, furniture and toy making, made using woodworking techniques enhanced by his painting skills (he started life as a portrait painter). His constructions include Bookshop, a model of an old-fashioned shop window displaying a 1930s style travel poster, a Boys Own Annual and Edward Blunden’s English Villages, all lovingly re-created in oil and gouache trompe l’oeil. And he also makes elaborate marquetry pictures depicting architectural and maritime scenes.
Alongside Hubbard, the gallery is showing work by ceramist Psiché Hughes. It’s her first solo show in London and includes both sculptural pieces – look out for her colourful Guatemalan Toucan – as well as functional vessels. Many of the vases and pots are decorated with fruit and vegetables and the show includes one in the form of a Brussels sprout stalk and another based on a pomegranate, both worked in the same vibrant, humorous style.
www.franciskylegallery.com
