Next – Project
Alexandra Blac, Gamut (detail). Photo: Alexandra Blac Studio. Courtesy Useful Objects.
Curated by Atelier Jade Niklai
03 October – 02 November 2024
Vernissage: Thursday 03 October, 6 to 8pm
Useful Object Gallery
47 Easey Street
Melbourne/Naarm
Collingwood 3066
Victoria, Australia
GAMUT presents a unique creative partnership between Alexandra Blac, Australia’s avant-garde fashion accessories designer-maker, and Marcus Piper, a leading multi-disciplinary creative, working at the intersection of analogue and digital design.
The exhibition’s title, GAMUT refers to a spectrum a colour, while alluding to the full range of human emotion and hope. Alongside new bodies of work by each designer, the centrepiece is an ambitious collaborative piece made exclusively for this exhibition.
Together, Blac and Piper present a bespoke, limited-edition hand-crafted chandelier, made from large shards of acrylic and featuring distinct neon details. The hyper-contemporary work casts swathes of coloured light on surrounding surfaces through reflection and refraction.
Alexandra Blac & Marcus Piper, Chandelier, 2024. Courtesy Designers & Useful Objects.
Alexandra Blac & Marcus Piper, Chandelier, 2024. Courtesy Designers & Useful Objects.
“We approached this collaboration from our distinct design sensibilities and personal trajectories to celebrate hope, joy and humanity. Our ‘Gamut’ of form and colour pays tribute to the retro futurists of 70s pop culture and our shared passion for cultural symbols of our time, such as Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album sleeve.”
– Alexandra Blac & Marcus Piper
All of the above: Alexandra Blac, The Space in Between (Coffee, Console and Side Table – Three Views), 2024. Courtesy The Designer & Useful Objects.
Alexandra Blac debuts a series of limited-edition sculptures, which double as functional furniture pieces made from transparent acrylic and produced by hand. The three distinct heights – intended as a coffee table, console and side table – are matched with a unique asymmetrical surface design. The nature of the material, informed by the surrounding light and the application of neon, ensures the object is illuminated without artificial light, day and night.
Alexandra Blac, The Space in Between (Coffee Table – in the dark), 2024. Courtesy The Designer & Useful Objects.
Alexandra Blac, The Space in Between (Coffee Table – in daylight), 2024. Courtesy The Designer & Useful Objects.
An exclusive range of hand-made wearable objects by Alexandra Blac echo the exhibition’s spectacular take on neon green, pink and orange. The limited-edition jewels embody Blac’s avant-garde style and bold personality.
For GAMUT Marcus Piper realised a selection of two-dimensional new artworks made from printed, embossed, sand-blasted and mirrored glass. The geometric shapes and innovative manufacturing techniques reflect his skill at melding his background in industrial and graphic design.
Marcus Piper, Invenire 1, 2024. Glass, mirror, ink, 120 x 90 cm. Ed. 3 + 2AP. Courtesy The Designer & Useful Objects.
The objects incorporate a refined graphical language, which enables them to be both functional and aesthetic, and to feel at once ancient and futuristic. The show’s graphic identity is also informed by Marcus’ accomplished graphic design and publishing experience.
Marcus Piper. Differentia, 2024. Glass, mirror, ink, 120 x 90 cm. Ed. 3 + 2AP. Courtesy The Designers & Useful Objects.
Marcus Piper, Invernire 2, 2024, Glass, mirror, ink, 120 x 90 cm. Ed. 3 + 2AP. Courtesy The Designer & Useful Objects.
“I was delighted to bring together two visionaries from the great spectrum of contemporary Australian design in this celebration of light, magic and hope. Their individual visions and exceptional collaboration are the 21st century embodiment of a futurist hard-edge design spectacle.“
– Jade Niklai, Exhibition Curator