david huycke: the metamorphic ornament – re-thinking granulation galerie sofie lachaert, tielrode, belgium january 16th – februrary 6th, 2011

david huycke ‘kissing spheres #3’, 2006 © david huycke

‘the metamorphic ornament: re-thinking granulation’ is a solo exhibition of belgian artist david huycke at galerie sofie lachaert. on display are 40 sculptural objects in which huycke has reinvented the ancient technique of granulation.

huycke’s work brings the historical decorative technique, typically used for surface embellishment in the past, into a contemporary artistic context. in granulation, sometimes tens of thousands of small metallic spheres or granules are connected to a metal surface. it is considered one of the hardest and most impressive skills in the history of goldsmithing art, in which case huycke has now in a sense mastered after five years of research.

david huycke at galerie sofie lachaert david huycke ‘order & chaos #1’, 2008 © david huycke

david huycke at galerie sofie lachaert david huycke ‘ornament #2’, 2007 © david huycke

david huycke at galerie sofie lachaert david huycke ‘imitanulation #1’, 2009 © david huycke david huycke at galerie sofie lachaert david huycke ‘oval chaos’, 2009 © david huycke

david huycke at galerie sofie lachaert david huycke ‘blue chaos’, 2010 © david huycke

david huycke at galerie sofie lachaert installation view of the exhibition at galerie sofie lachaert, 2010 image courtesy of galerie sofie lachaert

david huycke at galerie sofie lachaert installation view of the exhibition at galerie sofie lachaert, 2010 image courtesy of galerie sofie lachaert