Friday, 15 June 2007
The graduates of the RCA have much to live up to. Tracey Emin graduated there; David Hockney and Peter Blake met there in the 1960s, and James Dyson found fame and fortune after studying at the Royal College of Art.
But according to art collectors who turned up in strength at yesterday's annual degree show, the class of 2007 have every chance of following in their footsteps. The exhibition displayed the work of 66 MA art students. Charles Saatchi, the gallery owner and collector, said it was the best RCA annual show he had seen for years.
Works included a giant inflatable balloon, a device that calculates a person's carbon footprint, a Google Earth carpet, and a set of photographs of teddy bears and toys borrowed from children's graves.
Nigel Rolfe, the show's curator and RCA tutor whose previous students include Gavin Turk and the Chapman brothers, said the work this year reflected a growing intellectual preoccupation and a move away from the attention-grabbing conceptual work of the Young British Artists. "As a peer group, they are aware of the art world and how to put their own work forward. Significant collectors have visited the show and many of the pieces are already sold."The exhibition opens today and ends on 28 June.
THE CLASS OF 2007
Simon Ward, 28, London
Takes photographs of inanimate objects using a flatbed scanner. Other work has included hand-written signs made by homeless people. Degree show includes photographs of toys, teddy bears and dolls found on children's graves. Pieces have been featured in the Swedish art magazine, Bon.
Anna Genger, 29, Germany
Large-scale paintings are very colourful and can look quite abstract, but often refers to flowers and organic matter. The pieces for Genger's degree show will be taken to the Upstairs gallery in Berlin for a first solo show. Work was also shown as part of the Frieze art fair last year. It has been bought by private collectors and is in Bank of America's art collection. Before coming to the RCA, Genger studied sculpture at the Slade.
Duncan Fitzsimmons, 25, Portsmouth
Designed a collapsible wheel for the degree show. Previously worked with Renault in France and with Nokia, on a project where a text message is sent using a finger writing letters in the air. Major manufacturers may pick up his folding wheel design.
Gemma Anderson, 25, Belfast
Creates life-size portraits of her friends and family drawn on copper etchings and hand-coloured, using traditional printmaking techniques. Work was printed on the same press, the John Haddon Press, used in the Great Exhibition.
Ryan Mosley, 26, Middlesex
Four figurative works proved so popular that all were sold within hours to collectors. All the works are informed by portraiture and derived from a mixture of art history, mythology and folk culture, united by a carnival theme. The degree show work has been selected for the Celeste Art Prize. Last year, Mosely won the Jerwood Prize in the travel scholarship show.
Jordi Canudas, 31, Spain
Specialises in furniture in the show, notably the Wallfa, a hybrid wall and sofa with a malleable border. Another work, Less Lamp, resembles a large eggshell which viewer has to break in order to let the light out. Exhibited at British Council's Milan Fair HQ show, Great Eastern Hotel, Aram gallery and in Barcelona.
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