Contemporary and Country (C&C)’s exhibition Rock Paper Scissors encompassesd art and handmade objects fashioned with the process of their making in mind.
Rock, Paper, Scissors included artists and makers who like to surprise us with the outcome of their creative intent, choice of material and dexterity of fabrication.
Technical ability has played a subsidiary role in the production and appreciation of art in recent decades, as more conceptual work has been the main focus of artistic activity in contemporary collections and exhibitions in museums, galleries around the world.
C&C’s exhibition included creatives who have developed their work against this prevailing direction. The title Rock, Paper, Scissors refers to the childhood game of chance where material properties prescribe the outcome of each playful exchange between two players, with the material choice made by one player winning the point.
Knowledge of material and process has been the point of departure for many of the artists and makers C&C works with today. They have accumulated a wellspring of personal insight and experience in manipulating a range of natural and manmade materials coaxing their creative ideas into being.
Carved stone bowls, precise single sheet paper cuts, collages, poured abstract paintings, welded and hand-cast sculptures, tactile turned vessels and hand-hewn wooden platters reveal their material origins through each stage of the creative process. Each exhibit shows the alchemy that can occur between creative intent, material choice and dexterous fabrication.
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