Hothouse

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Northcity4

61 Weston St
Brunswick 3056

3-19 September
Thu-Sat 11am-5pm 

Opening Sun 6 Sep,  6.30-8pm

Hothouse is an eclectic collection of jewellery, objects and installation, showcasing the diversity of fourteen contemporary artists working under the umbrella of Northcity4 studios in Brunswick. An intricate, lush web woven from found and recycled materials, the exhibition and its design reflect the communal working environment of a unique group of artists, and offer an insight to the vastly different thematic worlds and innovative material uses of this collective. Hothouse contemplates how a shared working space – sometimes like a hothouse - can influence and nurture the creative process.

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Artists Katherine Bowman, Anna Davern, Antonia Field, Nicky Hepburn, Emma Grace, Anna Gray, Jin ah Jo, Jana King, Carolyn Kinnaird, Inari Kiuru, Ali Limb, Cass Partington, Toyah Perry, Callie Whelan

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About the Artists

Jana King’s work embodies simplistic shapes along with brightly coloured enamel paints.  Implementing industrial techniques, emphasising the presents of the simplistic formed Pearls and hand-cut gem stones incorporated in her practice.   
janakingjewellery.com 


Anna Grey: I approach jewellery design as a curatorial collection and arrangement of stories, ideas and forms combined with a technical, material practice.  As an emerging jeweller my work is currently driven by investigation of historical gold and silversmithing techniques such as granulation, repousse and plique-a-jour enamel. I am captivated by the transformation of metal from sheet to form and the different properties and demands of the materials I work with. I completed my studies in jewellery at NMIT in 2013. I previously studied art history and curatorship at the University of Sydney and the University of Tasmania. 
facebook.com/annagrayjewellery 

 
Jin Ah's process leverages her cross-cultural experiences of being born in  Korea and studying, living and working in Germany and Australia. She  emigrated from South Korea in 2000, studied in Fachhochschule Düsseldorf,  University of applied science in Germany in 2006 and finished Master of Fine  Art at Monash University in 2008. Jin Ah forms perforated mildsteel used for  industrial or architectural purposes, into sharp geometric structures. This  transforms the steel from its manufacturing origins into a wearable piece of  jewellery that explores form and space. She describes her work as  reconstructed and deconstructed forms art that reflects multiple cultural  experiences. 
jinahjo.blogspot.com


Emma Grace is a contemporary jeweller who is passionate about incorporating sustainability into her work. She is founder of The Treasury jewellery fixing and re-creation workshops, and was voted one of Melbourne Magazine’s Top 100 most inspiring and influential people of 2011 for her initiatives that combine craft and sustainability. Emma’s latest collection is made using responsible practices, reclaimed materials and 100% recycled silver and gold. Both style and substance are critical to Emma’s vision where jewellery is more than just adornment, but something to be treasured on many levels. Emma Grace Sustainability-Focused Jewellery Designer/Maker Sustainable Craft Workshops
www.emmagrace.com.au 


Inari Kiuru is an emerging multidisciplinary artist working with objects, images,  jewellery and mixed media installation. She migrated from Finland to Australia in 1995,  worked as a graphic designer and art director, and graduated with Honours in Fine Art  (Object Based Practice) from RMIT University in 2013. Inari focuses on the hidden extraordinariness of seemingly unimportant, everyday  subjects. Her current investigations include an ongoing series of photographs of  discarded matter, and a body of objects and jewellery imagining the collision and  convergence of industrial and organic forms through evolution.
inarikiuru.blogspot.com


Anna Davern gained her undergraduate degree from Sydney College of the Arts in  1993 and completed her Masters degree at RMIT in 2003.  Davern has held three solo exhibitions at Craft Victoria and has been represented in numerous solo and group exhibitions. In 2011 she co-founded Northcity4, an ARI  that provides professional and creative opportunities to the contemporary jewellery community. She has been the recipient of grants from the Australia Council, Arts Victoria and  NAVA and in 2007 she undertook a residency at the Estonian Academy of Art. Davern has taught and lectured at universities and TAFEs in Australia and overseas. 


Cass Partington is a contemporary jeweller and designer. She is a graduate of Melbourne University andNMIT and has been running her own practice in Melbourne for nearly two decades.  Her jewellery is designed to be worn and interpreted. Simple forms are minimally decorated and often make reference to signs, code and the urban landscape. Cass has recently experimented with larger scale artwork and costume design as part of the Bakehouse Project (Melbourne Fashion Festival). Cass currently works from the Northcity4 Studios in Brunswick and her work is available through a small number of retail galleries including e.g.etal (Melbourne), Studio Ingot (Fitzroy) and Blackfinch (Northcote).


Nicky Hepburn completed Gold and Silversmithing, at RMIT and a Bachelor of Education in  Arts and Crafts, at the University of Melbourne. She has also been a lecturer in Jewellery and  Metalsmithing for over 15 years. She has been involved in numerous group, solo and international exhibitions including, 2012-‘  Forces of Nature’ at the Australian Embassy, Washington DC, 2009 - the ‘Walk’, a NETS  touring exhibition.  Nicky supplies and exhibits regularly at e.g.etal Gallery, Studio Ingot, and Pieces of Eight in  Melbourne. Nicky’s practice is currently focused on investigating the natural environment,  and is based on her response to the details, light, colour and forms of the landscape. 
www.nickyhepburn.com.au 


Ali Limb is a Melbourne based contemporary jeweller. Ali began her career studying Gold and Silver-smithing at RMIT and has continued to play an active part in the contemporary jewellery field in Melbourne. In 1998, Ali co-founded e.g.etal with Emma Goodsir and continued working in the business for 11 years. Ali is now involved in Northcity4 Inc, an arts organization based in Brunswick supporting emerging and established makers through providing studio space and further skill development opportunities. She continues her jewellery practice making limited editions and one off pieces, which she exhibits through e.g.etal.


Antonia Field’s work references of microscopic patterns combined with fluid lines and found objects, combining of organic materials, industrial applications and rough gem stones to provide accents of colour. Inspiration from the ocean, it’s fluidity and hidden depths are a reference point through out the jewellery. An emerging Melbourne based jewellery designer and maker Antonia began her journey through completing an Advanced Diploma of Engineering in Jewellery at NMIT. This has led Antonia to project space tenancy at Northcity4 to develop her jewellery designs and journey with in the jewellery community.


Callie Whelan: As a recent graduate of the Melbourne Polytechnic (formerly NMIT) jewellery program, Callie Whelan is currently exploring invention in her jewellery practise. Her work explores technologies and materials of a pre- industrialised and consumerist world, with a particular interest in early flight technology. She combines traditional organic materials, including cow horn, with metal and glass to create dimensional and wearable models of early flying machines, that many relate as steampunk in influence. However, she sees her work as more of a tribute to the thinkers and inventors she feels have revolutionised our abilities to explore our own world and beyond.


Carolyn Kinnaird: Born and bred in Scotland, Carolyn graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 2011. Since graduating, Carolyn's love of travel has played a huge part in her design process. The knowledge and inspiration gained whilst travelling has lead her to acknowledge the way in which jewellery is celebrated and used in many different cultures across the world. Kinnaird Jewellery combines influences from traditional textiles and patterns with contemporary materials and geometric forms, to achieve work that is visually intriguing yet easily worn. 


Toyah Perry: Designer and jeweller, Toyah Perry draws her inspiration from two sides of the world: Brooklyn, NY andMelbourne, Australia. Toyah is interested in the beauty of simple geometric forms - the imperfect and the unconventional. Her ethos is based on the Japanese aesthetic of Wabi Sabi.  Toyah's pieces explores the traditional and unconventional use of silver, gold, cement, salvaged limestone and marble. She utilises metal smithing techniques and ceramic mould methods. Her work draws on ten years of design experience in theMelbourne and NY fashion and jewellery industries. She graduated with Distinction from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology for Industrial Design.
toyahperry.com


Katherine Bowman's work is influenced by both nature and the  history of art. She has a particular interest in how we imbue an  object with meaning and the consequent relationship the object  has with the body it adorns. Katherine’s first degree was a  Bachelor of Arts with a Double Major in Fine Art History from the  University of Melbourne from 1988 -1991. She then completed a degree with Honours in Gold and Silversmithing at RMIT in 2001.  In 2002, Katherine received an Australian Post Graduate Award  and completed a Master of Arts through RMIT.  Katherine is a founding member of Northcity4. 
katherinebowman.com.au