July/August 08
An Ever Expanding Universe (WA) > WA
Because of its title, my initial reaction to this exhibition was one of curiosity. Read More
Art Deco 1910 - 1939 (VIC) > VIC
With its Bakelite radio, Tamara De Lempicka painting and luxurious dressing table complete with intricate ivory inlays, the opening room of the National Gallery of Victoria’s Art Deco show says it all. Read More
Melbourne Art Fair (VIC) > VIC
With 80 commercial galleries, 10 project spaces, two specially commissioned installations and anticipated sales at the $10.5 million mark, the Melbourne Art Fair isn’t the sort of place to play things down. Read More
Puberty Blues
To stay sane in this world it is sometimes necessary to step back and laugh at the sheer nonsense that follows in the wake of a moral scandal. Read More
Robert Jenyns (NSW) > NSW
Pop psychologists and armchair analysts are masters of the succinct and the obvious. Read More
The enchanted forest: new gothic storytellers (VIC) > VIC
Curiouser and curiouser... a new approach to gothic. Read More
Turn, Turn, Turn: the past talks to the present (NSW) > NSW
Nick Waterlow is the only person to have curated more than one Biennale of Sydney. Read More
VIVID National Photographic Festival (ACT) > ACT
Australian photography festivals are seemingly multiplying at a rapid pace, with VIVID being the latest member to join the growing team. Read More
F!NK Fostering Design
By David Wills
Chances are that if you think about Australian design one of the first names likely to come to mind is F!NK, and its founder Robert Foster. F!NK’s familiar metal forms are well known not just in Australia, but also on the international stage where Alessi and Ingo Maurer can be counted as fans. The F!NK Fostering Design exhibition highlights the contribution Foster has made to Australian design and the designers he has helped shape.
Foster founded F!NK back in 1993, soon after graduating from the then Canberra School of Art. Exhibitions quickly followed in Australia and around the world, particularly in Germany, and F!NK pieces are at home in collections across Australia, Europe and the USA. Citing Ingo Maurer as a significant influence, Foster’s work is playful, inventive, highly sought after and a nexus of the man made and the machine constructed.
A strong focus in F!NK Fostering Design, which may not be evident to consumers of his products, is Foster’s commitment to the development of emerging talent. Over the years, through a series of mentorship programs, Foster has helped realise the vision of a number of recent graduates including, Sean Booth, Rachel Bowak, Bronwen Riddiford, Alexandra Marcello, Aiden McDonald and Oliver Smith.
For Foster, the focus of a mentorship is, “encouraging the latent potential in each individual. It is about seeing where talents lie and pointing people in the right direction.” Of key importance is easing graduates into the notion of surviving from their own work and being realistic about how to go about that. Professional development, working efficiently, time management and how best to develop new skills, both creatively and technically, are all outcomes Foster hones and prepares designers for. For him, mentorships should impart advice, information and pass on skills. It is about designers gaining a greater understanding of their chosen field. “The whole process is about character building”, says Foster, it is about pushing boundaries, constantly questioning ideas and methods, attention to detail and tenacity. The skill of finishing is crucial, and the sense of achievement which comes with that contributes meaning to final pieces.
Robert Foster principle of F!NK and Co with his signature F!NK Water Jug, in production since 1994, anodised aluminium. Photo Damian McDonald.
Bronwen Riddiford with F!NK Wine Chiller designed
by Bronwen Riddiford and Robert Foster, 2003,
anodised aluminium and rotation-moulded plastic.
Photo Damian McDonald.
In 2004, Sean Booth undertook a mentorship with Foster, funded by Craft ACT. The project provided Booth with the opportunity to develop prototypes which he could later take through to production.
For him, the mentorship had two main components: on the job training, which included business skills, and the ability to create and develop his own work. Through the mentorship Booth obtained guidance from Foster on all things related to business and creative matters including the ability to be realistic about the pressures of business management,
honing his skills to be able to think on his feet and solve problems as they arose, and to focus more clearly, and therefore determine his own direction. Booth’s mentorship culminated in, A New Mark, a solo show at Craft ACT.
Foster notes Booth’s enthusiasm and their similar way of thinking saw the mentorship take on a rather frenetic, yet fruitful pace, which was an intense experience. Booth continues to work for Foster while maintaining his own practice. He says the experience taught him so much more than he had bargained for and believes that it is important for those entering into the mentorship to have a mutual respect for each other’s work.
In addition to sleek homewares, Foster has a keen interest in lighting, experimentation and industrial process which is evident in a current work nearing completion. Bringing together burnt branches and modern developments in lighting, the most amazing chandelier you are likely to see is an exercise in elegance, rawness and complete enchantment.
Foster combines and links his one-off pieces with his production work; there is a cross fertilisation between the two, a merging of the handmade with the industrially produced.
Foster has exciting things in the pipeline including a Craft ACT touring exhibition which takes in Washington DC, development of his one-off pieces which fuse man made with machine made, and extending his international recognition with a show, International Metal, held as part of the Edinburgh Visual Arts Festival in August. F!NK will also exhibit again at Formland in Denmark and Ambiente, in Frankfurt Germany.
For F!NK, and in Foster’s own work, tooling is vital and somewhat experimental; it’s a part of the process which he enjoys. Foster believes in actively seeking out new ways of doing things, redefining form and making pieces that a machine couldn’t do alone, “Using manufacturing to create something that can only be made or discovered through hand-working.”
It is this devotion to experimentation and the constant pushing of boundaries that Robert Foster encourages in others, and the stunning results can be seen in F!NK Fostering Design.
Bronwen Riddiford with F!NK Wine Chiller designed by Bronwen Riddiford and Robert Foster, 2003, anodised aluminium and rotation-moulded plastic. Photo Damian McDonald.
F!NK Fostering Design, Craft ACT
29 May to 6 July 2008
David Wills is a Canberra-based artist, writer who is currently completing his PhD at the ANU School of Art.
