Hello there Avant.


Here is a postcard of my desk: 



And x 10 examples of commissions, collaborations and projects with contemporary artists relevant to Avant Art and the position of Creative (Editions): 

1. Lorna Simpson
2. Thomas Heatherwick
3. Katharina Grosse
4. Douglas Coupland
5. Julian Opie
6. Isaac Julien
7. Xavier Lust
8. More Doug Coupland
9. Marine Julié
10. Jaan Põldaas  






Limited Print Editions & Collectables As Art Director, I collaborated with 12 artists a year on the Limited Edition Cover for Wallpaper* subscribers as collectors. Every month I invited a contemporary artist to consider and effectively take over the cover space of the magazine. The brief for the artist to produce and engage with a mazagine cover as an intervention in print publishing was generally open except for one thing: the art work must be made specifically for the cover.  
1. Lorna Simpson
Reconsiders the dimensions of a page

Lorna Simpson reconsiders the dimensions of a page, producing two collages made of cut outs from old issues of Ebony magazine for a surprising double take on a magazine cover and women’s representation for the fashion issue.    



Older Queen, found photograph and collage on paper; and Adrift, found photograph and collage on paper, 220 x 300mm




2. Thomas Heatherwick
Reconfigures the architecture of a cover altogether

Thomas Heatherwick transforms the two dimensions of cover into a 3D object,  transforming the magazine into a sculpture come work of extended engineering:




Title here, dimensions 220 x 300mm



3. Katharina Grosse
Mixes ink to reconsider the possibilities of print and colour

For Katharina Grosse’s cover, I worked directly with our printers and print production team to develop a special colour mix and experimental printing technique involving mixing pms colours and a fluro ink to achieve a never before seen (and impossible to digitally reproduce here, or likely anywhere, again,) colour:


Title here, dimensions 220 x 300mm






4. Douglas Coupland
Mixes ink to reconsider the possibilities of print and colour

For Douglas Coupland, we went straight to fluorescent to broadcast headlines for the Handmade* X With Love issue:  

Title, Medium, 220 x 300mm




5. Julian Opie
Pushes the medium and limits of paper stock

British artists Julian Opie and Isaac Julian both looked at pushing the medium and limits of paper stock and look to techniques like foiling and lenticular printing to realise their works:

Title, Medium, 220 x 300mm



6. Isaac Julien  
Pushes the medium of print

 British artist Isaac Julien also looks at pushing the medium of paper and print and looks to techniques like foiling to realise the work:

Title, Medium, 220 x 300mm




Sculpture & Design Object Editions
For the annual Handmade* exhibition in Milan for Salone, I commissioned art works and design objects under the curatorial premise to form unlikely pairings of an artist (or designer, architect, etc) with a fabricator (manufacturer, craftsperson, factory, etc). The brief is to produce an new work for the exhibition in a medium, with material, or using production techniques outside the artist’s usual practice resulting in surprising and original handmade collaborations and collectables

7. Xavier Lust



For Handmade* Wellness + Wonder, I commissioned the Belgian sculptor and designer Xavier Lust known for curving metal and sculptural furniture to work with the soft medium of … boar’s hair, pairing the artist with the heritage English brush manufacturer and legacy brand Kent Brushes resulting in : 


Title, Medium, 220 x 300mm





A version of the “Beauty and the Beast” chaise longue is now in production as an edition of 8 
by Ralf Pucci (using Dedar fabric, not animal hair):