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"
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
What is silkscreen printing?
Printmaker Kaius takes a break from crafting world class editions at Make-Ready to guide us through the fundamentals, foibles and speculative future of screen printing and serigraphy.
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.
En Iwamura & Shigaraki Village
The first instalment of a new series telling the stories of artist communities worldwide.
In conversation: Tyler Hobbs
"Can I write a program that creates a painting?"
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.
Avant Arte in Accra
A series of studio visits in the Ghanaian capital.
Paul Insect: Personal Effects
Paul Insect arrives in Amsterdam.
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 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
Grayson Perry
Grayson Perry (he/him) was born in Chelmsford, Essex in 1960. Today, he lives and works in London.He has presented major solo exhibitions at institutions including Lakeside Arts, Nottingham, UK (2024–2025); Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, Scotland (2023); The National Museum, Oslo, Norway (2022–2023); Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht, Netherlands (2022); Manchester Art Gallery, UK (2021), and The Holburne Museum, Bath, UK (2020–2021).His artworks can be found in museum collections worldwide, including The British Museum, London, UK; Tate Collection, London, UK; Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht, Netherlands; Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, and Stedelijk Museum among many others.
Ayako Kita
Ayako Kita (she/her) is a Japanese artist born in 1981 in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Dmitri Cherniak
Dmitri Cherniak (he/him) was born 1988 in Canada and now lives and works in New York City.
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.
En Iwamura
En Iwamura (he/him) was born in 1988 in Kyoto, Japan, where he continues to live and work.
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.
Mickalene Thomas
Mickalene Thomas (she/her) was born in 1971 in New Jersey, United States and is now based in Brooklyn.
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.
Johnson Tsang
Johnson Tsang was born in 1960 in Hong Kong, where he continues to live and work.
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.
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.
Untitled
483,422 stitches compose an otherworldly landscape by Marina Perez Simāo. With her first textile work Perez Simāo explores the liminal zone between abstraction and figuration, reimagining an archetypal sunset as a series of fluid yet sharp-edged shapes. The edition translates the formal language of her lyrical oil paintings, inspired by the undulating landscapes of Brazil, into an embroidered tapestry in 24 colours. From thread to framing, each element of the artwork is crafted and assembled in Lyon – a historic cradle for artisanal French textiles.Proceeds from the collaboration will support the work of Gallery Climate Coalition and ClientEarth.
Sweetie Jar
Paul Insect’s penchant for unconventional materials in experimental combinations finds new form in an edition of lurid glass and steel sculptures.Drawn to the malleability and possibilities of glass, Insect collaborated closely with a Dutch foundry to translate his signature splashes of colour into glass drips and intriguing facial features. Rigid steel legs support the intricately formed, deep-set vessel – topped by an ornate, removable lid.The Sweetie Jar motif first appeared in the artist’s solo show Personal Effects as a series of puppet-like drawings and unique glass sculptures.“Each of the jars have their own slightly different character – truly handcrafted works.”To ensure safest handling, orders will via shipped with white glove service within 8-10 weeks of launch.
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 (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 (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)
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 (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.
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Your questions, answered
We collaborate with artists to create both limited editions and works on paper.
A limited edition is a set number of similar or identical artworks. The size of the edition denotes the total number of artworks that will ever be made, underscoring their value.
Framing options vary for each piece and are listed on the individual artwork pages. Our standard glazing offer is a minimum 90% UV acrylic plexiglass, or you can upgrade to an anti reflective Optium museum plexiglass.
Yes, 100%. We work directly with our artists to create editions that accurately represent their body of work. Additionally, every artist personally reviews and approves their final editions.
Every artwork is signed or stamped, and individually numbered. You will also receive a stamped and numbered certificate of authenticity.
No—the copyright is not transferred to the purchaser of the edition.
All the ins and outs can be found on our orders and shipping page.
