On first encountering the colourful, often enormous artworks of Alice Kettle, one would be forgiven for mistaking them for paintings. From a distance, her shimmering, abstract figures, set against the brightest backgrounds of electric blue, sunshine yellow and hot coral and pink, appear to be drawn with the dynamic lines and marks of the brush stroke. But a closer look reveals that it is not paint that is bringing these canvases sometimes as large as eight metres by three metres - to life, but rather stitches of thread. Alice Kettle is a textile artist who, in place of the painter's brush, uses a sewing machine to produce her exuberant and often poignant artworks.
Professor of Textile Arts at Manchester School of Art, Manchester Metropolitan University, Alice has been working in free machine embroidery and championing the power of stitch since the late 1980s. As well as making her own work (represented by the Candida Stevens Gallery), she leads the design and craft research group at Manchester and, down the years, has been involved in numerous public and community projects, which she is hugely passionate about. For her latest, the Thread Bearing Witness project, first shown at the Whitworth in 2018, she worked with refugees to create three enormous embroidered panels - Ground, Sea and Sky - each one representing their experiences of migration and displacement.
In March, Alice received the highest accolade when she won the Brookfield Properties Craft Award at the Crafts Council's annual Collect Fair for her contribution to craft. The prize means that three of her pieces will be purchased for the Crafts Council's permanent collection, and exhibitions of her work will be held in London this summer.
Alice is still digesting this exciting news when H&A caught up with her at her home studio in Frome.
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Denne historien er fra July 2023-utgaven av Homes & Antiques.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Relaxed LIVING
John and Katy Maskell Bell have filled their Victorian home with inherited treasures and antique finds to create a stylish yet warm and welcoming interior.
The HARD SELL
Like many of us post Christmas, Hattie Bell felt in need of a good clear out, but wasn't sure where to turn for items that were too special for the charity shop. Here, she tries and tests several methods - from selling ceramics at a vintage market to auctioning books...
THE ANTIQUES THAT SHAPED ME - Matt Dixon
The owner of TallBoy Interiors tells us about selling his first antique, and how to handle the pressure at French fairs.
48 hours in ASOLO
The medieval hilltop town of Asolo has captivated the imagination of visitors for centuries. Amanda Robinson finds out more about this beautiful- and romantic - Venetian gem...
Pride of place - STAFFORDSHIRE SLIPWARE
Distinguished by its bold, earthy colours and the use of liquid clay applied in decorative patterns, this rustic English pottery has a long and fascinating history, finds Janet Gleeson
ONE EYE ON THE PAST
Artist Sophie Glover explains how she creates her contemporary lover's eyes
Rainbow revelations
When Amy Eld bought her Pimlico home, its plain white walls sparked a desire to drench it in colour, before carefully furnishing it with vintage and antique treasures
Sustainable STYLE
When Nichola and Adam Burns moved from Bristol to France, they took their love of vintage and antique pieces with them, decorating their home with a multitude of stylish finds
Curated collections
Step into Marc Kitchen-Smith's atmospheric Cornish home, where antiques, history and passion intertwine to create a timeless, well-curated sanctuary.
Lisa Coppin
The Cotswold Company’s chief creative officer shares the pieces that mean so much to her
