An exhibition of the enchanting work of jeweller and designer Wendy Ramshaw RDI CBE is showing at the Harley Gallery, Worksop, from 27 October to 13 January 2013.
Spanning work from the 1960’s to the present day, Rooms of Dreams immerses you Wendy’s diverse practice, ranging from tiny gold rings made for baby princesses, to large scale, dramatic public gates.
The centre piece to the exhibition, the ‘Room of Dreams’, explores Wendy’s jewellery, which combines bold, sculptural shapes with beautifully crafted metalwork. This ground breaking installation was first developed for the Scottish Gallery in 2002. Now recognised as an important milestone in the development of contemporary applied art, the ‘Room of Dreams’ focusses on Wendy’s love of fairytales and mythical characters. The installation includes a necklace inpsired by the Miller’s daughter in Rumpelstiltskin, who had to weave straw into gold, and rings made for Alice in Wonderland, which take their inspiration from Alice swimming in a pool of her own tears.
“The dream is the room and every one of its individual contents is in some sense a part of a dream. A white wall is covered with frames, each of which contains a piece of jewellery, each inspired by a dream or dream-like situation…a series of stories and images waiting to be considered and discovered.” Wendy Ramshaw.
The public works use Wendy’s signature aesthetic to add magic and an otherworldliness to threshold spaces and were commissioned by a range of organisations from St John’s College, Oxford, to the V&A, to Priors Court School. The exhibition has a special focus on her most recent and largest public work to date, the 15 metre bronze gates for 1 Hyde Park, the Candy & Candy development in London.
Explore selected works further with the exhibition website, www.roomsofdreams.com or take home the Rooms of Dreams exhibition book, fully illustrated and with contributions from writers including poet Tobias Hill, Judy Rudoe, Curator, British Museum, Lady Marina Vaizey, art critic and Dr Beatriz Chadour-Sampson, Jewellery historian and lecturer.
Visit Rooms of Dreams at The Harley Gallery, Welbeck from 27 October 2012 to 13 January 2013 and discover the work and world of Wendy Ramshaw – full of fairytales, fine jewellery and dramatic public sculpture.
Wendy Ramshaw: Rooms of Dreams is a Harley Gallery touring exhibition in partnership with Ruthin Craft Centre, The Centre for the Applied Arts.
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England
The Harley Gallery
Welbeck
Worksop
Nottinghamshire
S80 3LW
01909 501 700
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