Engrained: Material Intelligence

For LDF2024, Sarah Myerscough Gallery explores the rich material intelligence involved in working with wood through a curated exhibition of contemporary design featuring Nic Webb, Peter Marigold, Studio Amos, Gareth Neal, and Kasper Hamacher. Made at the intersection of craft, sculptural design and material research, each of their works at Cromwell Place Garage in the Brompton District emerges from innovative and forward-thinking approaches to process and technique. The Gallery's aim for this exhibition is to showcase the innate properties of wood, drawing out its history, emotional durability, expressive capacities and continued significance in contemporary design. This is engrained further when we consider its material influence on the design process itself and indeed, the resultant object; to make with wood is to learn from wood, to follow its forces and metamorphosis. Such a process translates in this exhibition to magnificent sculptural pieces, expanding upon historical craft knowledge and bringing it forth into the present. The featured artists are experts in their field, developing their practices through many years of experimentation and refinement. Each approaches wood in a unique way and the exhibition provides a platform to showcase the multiplicity of outcomes available from one powerful material. Nic Webb studies the specific characteristics of each piece of timber and allows this to inform the direction of the artwork, in a process that he calls ‘co-design’. Gareth Neal uses digital CNC processes to make block furniture from the heart of Oak, normally rejected by the furniture industry for its imperfections. Drying over many months, the designer allows it to vocalise its interior drama through rich surface cracking. Peter Marigold negotiates the chemical reactions between cedar and steel nails to produce a beautiful painterly patina in his Bleed series; for this exhibition, he has created a new iteration finished in high gloss. Studio Amos entwines heather into a nest-like formation, using traditional basketry techniques to create a striking contemporary light pendant. The Gallery is proud to present our new artist, Kasper Hamacher, at LDF24. His practice encompasses a deep knowledge of sculpting with wood to create breathtaking furniture in sweeping climactic forms.