barnaby barford started making one-off art pieces made
from mass manufactured or antique porcelain figurines
at the same time or even before the more acclaimed designers
konstantin grcic, hella jongerius and ingo maurer have done it.
like him, all these designers re-assemble pieces of a historic and
modern ‘kitsch’ production and put them as artwork into a new
context. those pieces often possess a dark sense of humour.
in barnaby’s work the titles are an important part of it,
making an inroad to the piece and sometimes giving a totally
unexpected viewpoint.
the ceramic or porcellain pieces by barnaby barford
are made by either painting on or cutting up the found figurines
and re-assembling them together providing a clever way of
getting people to look again at something they would on principle
have dismissed. the way they are put together forces you to
look at the figures and the scene in a slightly disrupted way.
a new conglomerate is the result, a reworking of tradition that
leaves it recognisable but witty, ... edited.

barnaby barford
was born in 1977 and is an artist and designer
based in london.
after studying 3D design at the university of plymouth, exeter
in uk, in 1999 he came to faenza, italy (with the erasmus
exchange programme) and applied at the ISIA art and design
school (with focus on ceramics).
it was there, in faenza - at the museo internazionale di
ceramiche - that his passion for ceramics first started.
from 2000 to 2002 he graduated in a master course in
ceramics and glass at the london royal college of art.
his work crosses and blurs the boundaries between art,
craft and design. he has worked in many different areas from
installation art using new media to designing humorous and
thought provoking products to making one off sculptures
and short editions of furniture.
in 2005 barnaby was invited to exhibit in designboom’s
ICFF mart in new york, today, barnaby is represented by
david gill galleries in london. he also works independently
with other designers such as andré klauser and valeria miglioli
designing products for companies and design editors, such as
thorsten van elten.

http://www.barnabybarford.co.uk
http://www.thorstenvanelten.com