Time Regained: works by artist-goldsmith Kevin Coates
23 June - 25 September 2011
Press view: 22 June 2011
http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/vh
The Wallace Collection is delighted to be staging its next
contemporary art exhibition in June 2011 with the work of the
artist-goldsmith, Dr. Kevin Coates. Frequently described as an
alchemist and a Renaissance man, Coates pieces can be found in a
diverse and impressive range of public and private collections,
including 10 Downing Street, Lichfield Cathedral, the V&A and the
National Museum of Scotland.
Associate Artist at the Wallace Collection since 2007, Coates has
spent the past four years channelling his creative energy and unique
insights to the Collections works of art. The exhibition, Time
Regained, will be a major London showing from this leading
artist-goldsmith, and has been driven by one of Coatess enduring
preoccupations " the connection of Time with Art and Humanity, and
our response to the artefacts left by others. Inspired directly by a
dozen of the treasures from the Wallace Collection, Coates hopes that
this exhibition will renew our ways of looking at all things: to
stimulate the imagination, and not just the senses or the cultural
responses, but to express the meaning of every object, its career,
its experience of the humanity which has shaped it, revered and
collected it, over the passage of time.
A distinguished Liveryman of the Goldsmiths Company, Coates has
created a number of significant new works, combining the mysteries of
the goldsmith, painter, sculptor, musician, geometer, and scholar.
His diverse range of Wallace Collection inspirations includes Gothic
armour, Majolica, a Meissen ewer, Boulle furniture, and paintings by
Rembrandt, Flinck, Canaletto, Van Loo and Lancret. These masterpieces
from the past provide the springboard for new works of the futuRe:
objects and sculpture for the table, and painted multi-media
wall-pieces incorporating detachable jewels. Through Coatess mastery
and stature, this exhibition will put the contemporary world of
goldsmithing under a very special spotlight.
To accompany these new key pieces, shown for the first time, there
will be the opportunity to see a number of important (often unseen)
loans reflecting the breadth of Coatess skills and artistry over the
years. These will include the iconic Amity Cup, commissioned by the
Goldsmiths Company; Lichfield Cathedrals St. Chad Loving cup; another
loving cup, Ovid Metamorphoses from an American collection; and the
now famous Entry of the Queen of the Night Tiara, voted most popular
object in the Jewellery Moves exhibition at the National Museum of
Scotland in Edinburgh.
They will be joined by other commissions, from the small and intimate
to the grand and sately " the St. George Centrepiece for 10 Downing
Street, commissioned by the Silver Trust; the Athene Noctua brooch,
commissioned by Sir Roy Strong for the V&A; the Flood Centrepiece;
commissioned by Schroders, and the spectacular Charter Bell, another
important commission for the Goldsmiths Company.
Known for his technical brilliance, and the symbolic imagery of his
work, Coates is considered by many to be Britains foremost
artist-goldsmith. He focuses on the spiritual meanings and purpose of
jewellery, drawing inspiration from the natural world, theatre,
painting, literature, mathematics, and music.
Music is a key inspiration and itself is intrinsically linked and
ever present in his works. Coatess first dream was to become a
musician and as well as being a goldsmith he is also an accomplished
professional musician playing violin, viola, baroque mandolin, lute
and viola damore. His pieces are united by a delicate balance of
harmony, surely in some part due to Coatess fascination with
mathematics, time and music. His work is governed by an understanding
of how the tiniest change or alteration can irretrievably alter the
perception, or spiritual message conveyed by a piece. His pieces
translate a thought, story or emotion into visual and sensual
reality, just as an instrument translates a composers piece of music.
Come, explore, and let the creations and their understandings of the
Wallace Collection, gradually unveil themselves for your own
interpretation.