Discover our makers' diverse approaches to wood in our latest show, ROOTS, now on view at the gallery and online until 27 June.
ROOTS brings together the work of a group of makers who have shaped wood into objects of beauty, utility and quiet permanence across the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Spanning innovative jewellery, finely crafted furniture and sculptural vessels, the exhibition explores the enduring relationship between material, hand and time.
Featuring:
Malcolm Martin & Gaynor Dowling | Mathieu Jones | Sarah King | Hannah Lane | Alex Macdonald | Bert Marsh | Matthew Paré | Laurent Peacock | Sarah Emily Porter | Angus Ross
Below we select some of our highlights from the show:
Mathieu Jones' Wooden Tea Set (£1,600) is turned from green, locally grown timber which is sourced from the by-products of London’s tree management system, transforming wood that would otherwise go to waste into beautiful, functional objects.
Alex Macdonald's Laminated Oak Bench (£950) represents his approach to furniture making: simple, clean designs that understand and exploit the natural qualities of the materials.
Sarah King has been experimenting with wood as a medium for jewellery for over 20 years. Her Interplay Series Pendant uses ancient fossilised bog oak for a striking monochromatic effect. Each pendant is presented on a sculptural display stand to place the forms in conversation with one another.
Hannah Lane's process combines two materials that began at the same source - wood, a material of longevity and paper, a short-term material that she recycles into a solid material to create a new shape and texture, thus extending its journey. In her Paperwood Series (£95 - £155), wood becomes paper becomes wood.
The Flotsam & Jetsam Candelabra (£1850) is an expression of Sarah Emily Porter's love of colour, combining high gloss cherry reds and hot pinks with the natural grain of sycamore and ash.
A master of steam-bending, Angus Ross uses the technique to create the elegant intersecting forms of his Prism Table (£1,500), which is finished in a black stain that pays homage to the great Scottish designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh and is exclusive to CAA.
Matthew Paré works exclusively with British timbers, hand-selecting wood and often knowing the location of each tree used. At the heart of his Ripple Sycamore Hexagon Jewellery Box (£1,235) is the subtle grain and tonal variations in the wood - a perfect gift for the jewellery lover in your life.
From an early age, Bert Marsh felt a profound need to work with wood, a material he loved passionately and worked with until his passing in 2011. The Laburnum Vase (£315, is classic Marsh, contrasting the precision of the turned form with the natural irregularity of the bark edge.
Laurent Peacock's Set of Two London Plane Tables (£5,000) are designed to nest gently together. Hand-carved from London Plane, the tables emphasise the tiger stripe grain of the wood.
Malcolm Martin and Gaynor Dowling's collaborative wood practice originated in an attempt to create a sculptural equivalent of Giorgio Morandi’s still life paintings, which intrigue the pair with their spatially complex compositions. Made from limed and scorched oak, Flask (£1,200) purposefully leaves the tooling marks visible, creating an alluringly textured surface.