Drawing Near The Light, Solo Exhibition

Contemporary Applied Arts Gallery London

"Perhaps no Englishman, apart from the owners of truly ancestral homes, had ever felt such passionate attachment to a building”

Fiona MacCarthy, William Morris, A Life of Our Time

Drawing Near The Light:

For the London Design Festival 2011 CAA will present a contemporary response by the architectural glass artist Kate Maestri to the relationship between William Morris and Kelmscott Manor, his home for 25 years.

The work will consider the influence of the house and its gardens on Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co, his interior design company founded 150 years ago in 1861.

For the exhibition Maestri has considered the range of visual stimuli that the house and its garden evoke, producing a series of sculptural glass pieces that contrast the simplicity of the architectural interior with the rich organic tapestry of plants growing outside. Selecting a colour palette that responds to the contrasting forms and tones of light and shade found within the house and its grounds, the work will individually and collectively evoke the spirit of Kelmscott Manor in an experiential fashion.

Morris' company, later renamed Morris & Co, still produces wallpapers and fabrics designed during the years the designer spent at Kelmscott Manor, inspired by its idyllic setting and tranquillity. Built around 1600 the house was central to Morris' relationship with the natural world and its influence on both his artistic output and philosophy was profound.

Pete Collard, contemporary design curator

Photo credit @philipvile