Bedales By Design Exhibition - From Lady Ga Ga to McLaren F1

Bedales By Design Exhibition - From Lady Ga Ga to McLaren F1

07/10/2010

Walk into Bedales Gallery, in Steep, up to the 20th October and a glance around the space will take in an exquisitely crafted sideboard just completed in the Barnsley Workshop, a Formula 1 rolling chassis from McLaren, a John Galliano dress, scale models of furniture loaned by Sir Terence Conran, hi-tech racing cycle components and accessories, and a 1982 silk and wool dress by Yohji Yamamoto.

This apparently wildly eclectic mix – and you find that there is more to discover as you walk around – has been drawn together by the staff of the Bedales Design Department. The unifying theme is high quality design – more often than not British in this case – characterised by innovation in form, function or manufacture, and allied to the highest production standards.

The exhibition has been assembled to inspire and stimulate design students at all levels but is open to the general public, as always, and should be relished by all who appreciate good design.
Ben Shaw, Head of Design at Bedales, commented,
“It’s a great privilege to bring to bring to this local Gallery the work of internationally renowned designers and to see at close quarters some products or models normally held in private collections and archives.
It has also been a great pleasure to have the opportunity to include work by designers who received their initial design training at Bedales.”

Rory Hitchens of Utimate Sports Engineering in Petworth credits the Bedales Design Workshop with changing the course of his life. The TULA (‘the ultimate legal advantage’) handlebar is designed for road-racing, where a tenth of a second can be significant. Its aerodynamic properties save the rider 15w of power at race pace, compared with competitor products, and has been utilised by World Championship and Olympic Gold winners in the last two years.

Anna Bullus left Bedales some seven years ago, having studied Design at ‘A’ level. She pursued her studies at Camberwell School of Art and the University of Brighton. Her original solution to the menace of discarded gum is GUMDROP, an easily installed pink receptacle now appearing around the UK and the United States, which is manufactured in part from recycled gum.

The exhibition also includes paper jewellery by Fred Butler, as worn by Lady Gaga, and a 2007 mask by milliner Philip Treacy.  A film by Nick Knight features the work of Gareth Pugh, the Sunderland-born international fashion designer, and documents the process of fashion design from experimental fabric cutting and fabric manipulation to final outcome.

Dyson, a company employing at least two former Bedales student designers, has provided examples of the firm’s innovative products, including the bladeless fan.

A retrospective exhibition from the Barnsley Workshop was a highlight of Bedales Gallery’s programme almost exactly twenty years ago. It is very satisfying to have included in the current exhibition one of the latest commissions undertaken by the Workshop, designed by James Ryan and realised with the legendary craftsmanship and scrupulous standards displayed in 1990.

BY DESIGN is open at Bedales Gallery, Mon – Fri 2-5pm Sat 10am – 1pm, until 20th October and admission is free of charge. Because of the fragile nature of some of the exhibits, adults accompanying young children are asked to monitor them particularly closely. All visitors are asked to refrain from touching any of the exhibits. The telephone number for Gallery enquiries is 01730 711 511 and the Please click here to view the full programme of arts events on the Bedales Arts pages.

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