MEASURED MAKING
Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre, Cwmbran
Until Sat 18 Jan
Through the Christmas period until mid-January, Llantarnam Grange’s main gallery will be home to the finished products of the Measured Making #150mm Challenge. Set up in order to connect an international community of blacksmiths and revel in the talent and diversity amongst this trade, the idea stems from a warmup set by Hereford College Of Arts lecturer Ambrose Burne for his students. The brief is simple: artists are instructed to produce something interesting out of a small, rectangular piece of steel, measuring 150mm x 20mm. It’s an exercise in simplicity and the miniature.
Only three weeks were given to design and create something spectacular out of the specified material. After the art students shared their work on social media, the challenge caught the attention of blacksmiths worldwide – and this exhibition features a display of 240 individual pieces of artwork from 19 different countries.
Process, material, resourcefulness and imagination are celebrated through this task and the finished pieces range from amusing models and abstract sculptures to functioning utensils and tools. This exhibition is set to explore and push the limits of what is possible through the medium of metal, as well as conjure the deserved admiration for the blacksmithing trade here today in 2019.
Admission: free. Info: 01633 483321 / www.lgac.org.uk (RH)