The allure of form & texture

Just like movement and motion, form and texture is all around us. It surrounds us and is the make up of our environment. Form and texture enriches our lives; whether its the shapes in nature or the structures in our industrialistion; it is always inspiring us and showing us the true beauty of mother earths work.

Through researching the topic of form and texture I found many artists who weave different texture through their work in a profound manner.

Rowan Mersh is a textile based sculptor who explores form and fuses concept with technique, emphasizing experimentation as the focus of his practice. Mersh’s work is process oriented, the work reveals itself within his practice, as it takes form and reveals shape depending on the emphasis and materials. I absolutely adore his sculptural piece from milan design week 2011. The exhibition to which this sculptural piece belonged to (’fatto a mano for the future") was part of a live design series which invites artists and designers to join a fendi craftsman in creating sculptural objects using discarded materials from the fendi production process, as a conceptual illustration. I love the idea of recycling old materials to create something which has so much more value. Also the history of these discarded materials only adds to the pieces themselves as they hold a story of their own. I think it would be interesting to experiment with cloth in the way that mersh does as it would be highly textured. Also the rustique colours of his sculptural piece reminds me of rust and tarnished items.

Another artist which i find myself highly drawn to is Sandra Backlund. Backlund is a fashion designer known for her handcrafted knitwear with highly sculptural elements. Backlund approaches fashion more like a sculptor than a tailor.  She is pushing the boundaries for knitwear possibilities and achieving innovative wearability more and more . Backlund uses many different types of wools in her knitwear which includes metal yarn that is made of 100% copper, that is both beautiful and wearable. I find it highly fascinating that Backlund is combing sculpture with fashion. When we think about clothing we think of soft materials used in their creation but now Backlund is pushing the limits of textures and form by creating these wearable pieces made of copper. They are highly architectural. The notion of the body being the foundation for a building as such ( sculptural knitwear) is outstanding and I am extremely excited to see what her next ground breaking textures will consist of.

Heres a few other artists that work in texture that you should definetly check out!

• Iris van Herpen
• Comme Des Garcons
• Anna Gunnarsdottir
• Mark Fast

Heres' an outstanding video of movement of texture, by the talented Chris Cunnigham. The advert is produced to advertise the fragrance "Flora" by Gucci.