Craft

Craft is a creative process that typically results in something that serves a practical purpose, like clothing or utensils.

In the past, crafts were often considered inferior to traditional art forms like painting and sculpture due to their utilitarian nature, and they were predominantly associated with women, which contributed to their lower status.

In the mid-1800s, William Morris challenged the distinctions between art and craft by infusing artistic aesthetics into craft objects, as seen in his wallpaper designs.

Throughout the 20th century, the lines between art and craft began to blur, especially at institutions like the Bauhaus, where artists explored craft techniques in their art. Artists like Sonia Delaunay experimented with textiles to create geometric abstract pieces, while Ai Weiwei used traditional crafting methods in his work, ‘Sunflower Seeds’ (2010), to convey a political message. Today, contemporary artists like Grayson Perry and Tracey Emin continue to employ craft techniques in their creations.

38 results found for "Craft"

video

Judy Chicago

Judy Chicago is a legendary feminist artist who has irrevocably changed the face of art history. Inspired by her landmark retrospective, Revelations, at the Serpentine in London, we dive into her empowering and inspirational story.

Judy Chicago
video

Tom of Finland

Tom of Finland's iconic drawing style is one of the most enduring influences on gay culture. As a young boy, he daydreamed about the farmers and labourers from his rural hometown in their leather boots and workwear. As an adult, he turned these fantasies into his legacy.

Tom of Finland
video

Emanoel Araújo

Emanoel Araújo has many legacies. In this Artist’s Artist, we take a look at some of his greatest works of art and curation.

Emanoel Araújo
article

Ai Weiwei – Everyone is a dragon

It's the year of the dragon. Dragons wield godlike power in myths and folklore, but Ai Weiwei insists that everyone is a dragon. Here's why.

Ai Weiwei – Everyone is a dragon
essay

Anna Ridler – What's it worth?

Conceptual artist Anna Ridler has been using artificial intelligence and machine learning for over a decade. Her work with tulips explores value, speculation and desire.

Anna Ridler – What's it worth?
article

Actual Size: Explained

Ed Ruscha has spent his life toying with everyday words and objects – from roadside gas stations and billboards to the Hollywood sign. Featuring the SPAM logo and tin, Actual Size is one of his most iconic artworks. Here’s how a strange, satirical painting captured the essence of America.

Actual Size: Explained
essay

How CryptoPunks NFTs changed the face of digital art

Created in 2017 by Matt Hall and John Watkinson, CryptoPunks were one of the first NFTs minted on the Ethereum blockchain. CryptoPunks quickly penetrated the mainstream, captivating not only crypto enthusiasts but also artists, celebrities and the general public. Today the 24x24 avatars are a divisive status symbol living up to their Punk name.

How CryptoPunks NFTs changed the face of digital art
essay

The art movement that redefined Britain

What does it mean to be a British artist? The British Black Arts Movement introduced the world to a side of Britain that had been previously kept out of museums and galleries.

The art movement that redefined Britain
video

Cai Guo-Qiang – Explosive serenity

Explosive serenity is the paradox at play in Snow Lotus, a new collaboration with Cai Guo-Qiang. Hear his reflections on reflections, and discover the printmaking processes involved in transforming one of his gunpowder paintings into a limited edition print.

Cai Guo-Qiang – Explosive serenity
essay

Bridging the gap: how 50 years of hip-hop has changed the artworld

This is the story all about how hip-hop and art have propelled each other to global domination. From graffiti on the streets of the Bronx to record breaking auction results, hip-hop giants continue to make waves in the artworld.

Bridging the gap: how 50 years of hip-hop has changed the artworld
essay

Are graffiti tags the purest art form?

Tagging offers no reward beyond the rush of its creation, and the chance to be part of something bigger.

Are graffiti tags the purest art form?
guide

Framing inspiration

So you found the perfect artwork. Now what? From classic to creative framing, with room for magic comes room for mistakes. We took five prints to a framing studio in East London to explore the possibilities on offer for the contemporary collector. Here's what we found out.

Framing inspiration
guide

What is silkscreen printing?

Kaius, a printmaker, takes a break from crafting exquisite editions at Make-Ready in London to guide us through the fundamentals and speculative future of screen printing and serigraphy.

What is silkscreen printing?
article

A Record of Time

For Avant Arte's first curated NFT launch, collector Shahin Tabassi considers the ability of digital art to transport us through time.

A Record of Time
video

En Iwamura & Shigaraki Village

The first instalment of a new series telling the stories of artist communities worldwide.

En Iwamura & Shigaraki Village
interview

In conversation: Tyler Hobbs

"Can I write a program that creates a painting?"

In conversation: Tyler Hobbs
video

Matt Deslauriers – Generative printmaking and systems of colour

Generative artist Matt DesLauriers and printmaker Tom Murphy meet after hours at Make-Ready to reflect on the creation of Sierra. The collaboration forges a harmonious relationship between silkscreening and generative art.

Matt Deslauriers – Generative printmaking and systems of colour
article

Avant Arte in Accra

A series of studio visits in the Ghanaian capital.

Avant Arte in Accra
article

Paul Insect: Personal Effects

Paul Insect arrives in Amsterdam.

Paul Insect: Personal Effects
article

Inner Visions 02

For the second instalment of Inner Visions, Larry Ossei-Mensah introduces a series of unprecedented works by New York-based artists Tau Lewis and Ludovic Nkoth.

Inner Visions 02
interview

Inner Visions 01

In his first collaboration with Avant Arte, critic and curator Larry Ossei-Mensah introduces three artists, Grace Lynne Haynes, Ferrari Sheppard and Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe

Inner Visions 01
Artist

Ayako Kita

Ayako Kita (she/her) is a Japanese artist born in 1981 in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.

Ayako Kita
Artist

Dmitri Cherniak

Dmitri Cherniak (he/him) was born 1988 in Canada and now lives and works in New York City.

Dmitri Cherniak
Artist

Six N. Five

Six N. Five is the studio of Ezequiel Pini’s work, an award-winning Argentinian designer and digital artist based in Barcelona.

Six N. Five
Artist

En Iwamura

En Iwamura (he/him) was born in 1988 in Kyoto, Japan, where he continues to live and work.

En Iwamura
Artist

Tschabalala Self

Tschabalala Self (she/her) was born in 1990 and raised in Harlem, New York. She now lives and works in New Haven, Connecticut.

Tschabalala Self
Artist

Mickalene Thomas

Mickalene Thomas (she/her) was born in 1971 in New Jersey, United States and is now based in Brooklyn.

Mickalene Thomas
Artist

Nathalie Djurberg & Hans Berg

Nathalie Djuerberg was born in 1978 in Lysekil, Sweden, and Hans Berg was born the same year in Rättvik, Sweden. The pair have practiced as a duo since 2004.

Nathalie Djurberg & Hans Berg
Artist

Johnson Tsang

Johnson Tsang was born in 1960 in Hong Kong, where he continues to live and work.

Johnson Tsang
Artist

Michael Kagan

Michael Kagan was born in 1980 in Virginia, USA, and now lives and works in Brooklyn. He received his MFA from the New York Academy of Art in 2005.

Michael Kagan
Artist

David Rudnick

David Rudnick (he/him) was born in 1986 in London. He is now based in Ghent, Belgium, where he works from a collaborative studio – Terrain.

David Rudnick
Sculpture

Heartbreaker (Blue)

Musing on the non-stop paradox of the human condition, Joakim Ojanen contrasts emotion and material in an experimental edition of brass and glass sculptures.A smiling face sits on the surface of a hand-blown, hand-sculpted glass dome, echoing the endearing characters found throughout Ojanen’s practice. A downcast brass heart – complete with engraved base, protruding feet and tail – peers out from within. The two elements are unattached, meaning the glass can be removed to reveal the heart inside. “I think it’s a beautiful combination, two different feelings at once – the happy go lucky outside and the heart that is sad.”Heartbreaker has been crafted in blue, violet and red glass. Given the handmade nature of the sculpture, exact dimensions will vary. Brass stand: 16cm x 11cm x 21.5cm
Glass dome: 28.5cm x 17cm x 18cm (approx)

Heartbreaker (Blue)
Sculpture

Heartbreaker (Violet)

Musing on the non-stop paradox of the human condition, Joakim Ojanen contrasts emotion and material in an experimental edition of brass and glass sculptures.A smiling face sits on the surface of a hand-blown, hand-sculpted glass dome, echoing the endearing characters found throughout Ojanen’s practice. A downcast brass heart – complete with engraved base, protruding feet and tail – peers out from within. The two elements are unattached, meaning the glass can be removed to reveal the heart inside. “I think it’s a beautiful combination, two different feelings at once – the happy go lucky outside and the heart that is sad.”Heartbreaker has been crafted in blue, violet and red glass. Given the handmade nature of the sculpture, exact dimensions will vary. Brass stand: 16cm x 11cm x 21.5cm
Glass dome: 28.5cm x 17cm x 18cm (approx)

Heartbreaker (Violet)
Sculpture

Heartbreaker (Red)

Musing on the non-stop paradox of the human condition, Joakim Ojanen contrasts emotion and material in an experimental edition of brass and glass sculptures.A smiling face sits on the surface of a hand-blown, hand-sculpted glass dome, echoing the endearing characters found throughout Ojanen’s practice. A downcast brass heart – complete with engraved base, protruding feet and tail – peers out from within. The two elements are unattached, meaning the glass can be removed to reveal the heart inside. “I think it’s a beautiful combination, two different feelings at once – the happy go lucky outside and the heart that is sad.”Heartbreaker has been crafted in blue, violet and red glass. Given the handmade nature of the sculpture, exact dimensions will vary. Brass stand: 16cm x 11cm x 21.5cm
Glass dome: 28.5cm x 17cm x 18cm (approx)

Heartbreaker (Red)
Print

Cosmodela

Created and released alongside Personal Effects, an exhibition staged in Amsterdam in November 2021, Cosmodela is an intricately-crafted screenprint edition finished with metallic ink, diamond dust and high-gloss varnish highlights.The work includes a number of the artist’s signature motifs – a masked face, pointillism and splashes of vibrant colour – and is accompanied by a second, smaller edition, Cosmodela (Duponti).

Cosmodela
Print

Cosmodela (Duponti)

Created and released alongside Personal Effects, an exhibition staged in Amsterdam in November 2021, Cosmodela (Duponti) is an intricately-crafted screenprint edition finished with metallic ink, gold glitter and high-gloss varnish highlights.The work includes a number of the artist’s signature motifs – a masked face, pointillism and splashes of vibrant colour – and is accompanied by a second, larger edition, Cosmodela.

Cosmodela (Duponti)

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Parra's studio, with Parra at the centre, his back to the camera as he works on the large painting takes centre stage, showing a faceless blue woman in a striped dress, painted in red, purple, blue and teal. The studio is full of brightly coloured paints, with a large window on the right and a patterned rug across the floor under the painting.