The first ever solo exhibition by renowned British furniture maker John Makepeace opens at Somerset House in London on 16 March 2011. The show celebrates Makepeace’s 50 years at the forefront of British design and is funded by Arts Council England in recognition of Makepeace’s international status in designing furniture as a contemporary art form. The exhibition is part of a tour organised by The Devon Guild of Craftsmen.
‘John Makepeace – Enriching the Language of Furniture’ runs from 16 March to 15 April 2011 and brings together 25 pieces from public and private collections in the UK and abroad, some not previously seen by the public. Recent work includes designs made in limited editions from a single tree.
The exhibits will include the famous ‘Mitre’ chair made to celebrate HM the Queen and Prince Philip’s Silver Wedding Anniversary and ‘Ripple’ – a chest carved with wave forms penetrating the surface of the oak, from a tree planted in 1740 and harvested in 1980.
Makepeace’s visionary career positions him as the father of British furniture design. His design and manufacturing represent a meeting of classic and modern, embodying workmanship of the highest standard and championing sustainability. Each piece of furniture, standing alone or as part of a collection, is original and quintessentially English.
Inspired by Danish designers in the 1950s, the young craftsman built his own workshop and soon earned national acclaim for retail products for Heals, the Centenary Dining Room for Liberty’s and winning design competitions, including an Observer challenge to design the perfect modern kitchen. In the 1970s he was a founder trustee of the Crafts Council and gained international renown for setting up Parnham College, which integrated the teaching of fine craftsmanship in wood with design and entrepreneurship. Former students include Sean Sutcliffe of Benchmark, Konstantin Grcic and Wales & Wales.
Through the ‘80s and ‘90s, while directing the College and running his own studio, Makepeace addressed some of forestry’s most pressing economic concerns and explored its environmental potential. He brought together foresters, chemists, material scientists, structural engineers and designers to research and develop sustainable new technologies and building systems. They used forest ‘thinnings’: low value trees of small diameter removed to enable the better specimens to develop. The award-winning buildings that resulted at the Hooke Park campus are proof of a most successful multi-disciplinary collaboration. Since 2000, Makepeace has been leading initiatives with the V&A to encourage more adventurous design.
Makepeace’s own work is represented in numerous collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, the Museum fur Kunstandwerk, Frankfurt and the Arts Institute, Chicago. He now works to commission, undertaking several major projects in the US, and has recently introduced a range of affordable limited editions.
Makepeace became an OBE (1988) for services to furniture design, was given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Furniture Society (USA) in 2002 and is an Honorary Fellow of the Devon Guild of Craftsmen. He was recently nominated for the Prince Philip Designers Prize 2010 and received a Special Commendation.
Makepeace says: ‘In a world where so much attention is given to the short-term and superficial, our relationship with craftsmanship is more important than ever. Beautifully made and designed pieces that will endure and become heirlooms are a necessary antidote to the virtual reality that now permeates the culture.’
The exhibition is being held in the Terrace Rooms facing the Thames. Several of the pieces will be for sale.
