Osian batyka-williams biography templates

When Cutlery Becomes Art

To us, every piece of Studio William cutlery is a work of art. The time spent on each and every elegant design, inspired by the beauty and strength of the natural world around us and crafted with the utmost care and attention to detail.

But there is also a plethora of art around the world where cutlery is the focus.

As it turns out, we’re not alone in thinking that cutlery has the potential to be a thing of true beauty. Artists from every corner of the globe have used utensils ordinarily found on dining tables and in kitchen drawers as the inspiration for their creations.

South Carolina-based sculptor Matt Wilson is one such artist who brings cutlery to life in a totally unique way. Using old silverware welded together with care and expertise learned during his time working at Detyens Shipyard on the East Coast of the USA, Wilson truly takes upcycling to a new level, transforming cutlery into incredibly intricate models of birds and other wildlife.

For years, spoons were the main event in Wilson’s eyes. A far cry from their traditional place in the home, these culinary structures take shape in remarkable ways. The bowl of a spoon becoming a curved head, while handles evolve into jaunty tails. It wasn’t long before he started using his skills to transform other cutlery too, using the tines of forks and steak knives as sharp wing feathers, and serving spoons as proud, rounded chests.

But naturally, Wilson is not the only one who has seen cutlery for all it has to give to the art world. Osian Batyka-Williams, a college tutor from London Bridge, famously spent three weeks welding cutlery together to make a chair that was later valued at over £3,000. In an interview with The Telegraph, he explains the decision to use cutlery as his muse and material: “Throwing cutlery away is wasteful and sending it to be melted down and recast uses a lot of energy. I thought it would be better if I made something with it.” – a true pioneer for art

The term nostalgia first appeared in history to describe an illness suffered by Swiss soldiers, now known as homesickness. Johannes Hofer coined the term in his 1688 medical dissertation, from the Greek nostos, meaning homecoming, and algos, meaning pain. As the 18 century progressed, nostalgia turned into a widespread diagnosis of a certain cultural malaise. Perhaps it is not coincidental that this expansion of the concept occurred in conjunction with a certain philosophical development purveyed first by Winckelmann followed by Hegel and Heidegger. This advance opened up a new sensibility for the question of origins, and allowed the present to be interpreted as a new kind of straying from the truth.[1] Nostalgia is now defined as a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past. It plays a leading role in almost every aspect of modern society, infiltrating a range of disciplines and fostering a discourse surrounding the prevailing cultural norms of today.

The era of the smart phone, smart car and smart city has revolutionised modern life to a degree inconceivable to a person living as recently as the 1980s. This new mode of living has created a culture of incredible efficiency, rapid economic growth and enormous advancements in technology. Conversely, the resulting lifestyle has paved the way for a developing counter culture interested in nostalgia for slowness, inefficiency and imperfection. In the debate surrounding smart cities, Richard Sennett argues, “a great deal of research during the last decade, in cities as different as Mumbai and Chicago, suggests that once basic services are in place people don’t value efficiency above all; they want quality of life. If they have a choice, people want a more open, indeterminate city in which to make their way; this is how they can come to take ownership over their lives.”[2] This, among other manifestations of nostalgia encourage us to constantly re-evaluate our position

Image via Complex Original

Paul Wadsworth is a painter based in Cornwall and produces work inspired by his local environment and from his travels.

Where did you train? What did training teach you and what do you wish it had taught you?

I trained at Ipswich and Falmouth art college. Both taught me to be playful with my work .. also loved studying the figure.. worked on many paintings and drawings from the nude which taught me to find the creative space you need to paint. 

Is being an artist your only job, or do you have other employment?

I am only an artist which is wonderful.  Its what I earn my living from.. for me to paint and survive from what I love doing is a good place to be.

One favourite living artist?

So many artits I like but I seem to return a lot to Anthony Fry. I love his power of story telling and use of colour. He has painted a lot in India and I love the exotic. I have spent the last 13 winters painting in the Middle East which provides me with great narratives for my paintings.

One favourite historical artist?

Chagall, for his power of colour and narrative.

What is the most interesting / fun job you have had?

Mmm,  most fun job.. definitely not the sugar beet factory!  I worked once for a theatre company designing and creating the stage set for a Wizard of Oz production which I then took to Glastonbury Festival to use on a music stage.

I would collaborate with Turner    his use of paint and emotion and my installation of colour and narrative would be fun

At age 16 who most influenced your style?

At 16 I can't say I was at the high end of fine art.. although Dali was an interest as I remember buying a poster.. other than that some poster art or album cover designs .

I think it was called ' Faust'. I love the use of puppetry to tell a story and have been thinking of using puppets to tell the story of paintings and to bring them to life som