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A new exhibition inspired by the work of the late artist JB Blunk once again takes an everyday object and elevates it through repetition and imagination
Sam Bakewell; Jordan McDonald; Jesse Schlesinger; Simon Lamson; Normal Studio; Martino Gamper; Vince Skelly; Francis Upritchard; Woody De Othello; Green River Project; Siw Thomas; Bethan Laura Wood; Peter St John; Michael Marriott; Maki Suzuki; Ido Yoshimoto; Nathan Lynch; Rogan Gregory; Kentaro Kawabata; Jessica Thornton Murphy; Jon Harrison; Ian Collings; Zoe Dering; Carl Clerkin, prices start at £39 Mariah Nielson; with her father JB Blunk; a poster from the original 1981 exhibition
Although best remembered for his large wooden installations such as The Planet, mid-century furnishings and hand-built architecture, the first love of multidisciplinary artist James Blain Blunk (known as JB Blunk) was ceramics. Nowhere was this passion more evident than in his exhibition ‘One Hundred Plates/Plus’, presented at the David Cole Gallery in 1981. Here he showcased 100 distinctly different plates, in an exploration of the relationship between art and craft. It’s this show that inspired his daughter Mariah Nielson, director of the JB Blunk Estate and Blunk Space (a gallery and research centre in Point Reyes, near San Francisco), to curate the recently opened ‘100 Hooks’, elevating a new everyday object. ‘My father’s seminal 1981 exhibition was emblematic of his way of working and his blurring of lines between functional and non-functional, so we felt an homage show would be a perfect way to continue engaging with his legacy and our expanding artist community.’
‘100 Hooks’, which is on display until 11 February at Blunk
