Chris Knight

South Yorkshire

Work: 0114 279 6565

Fax: 0114 276 1769

I design each object through an exploration of its essence; its basic function and a consideration of its preconceptions. I deconstruct the physical and functional elements and rebuild the object with a question in mind. I hope to move the user into reassessing a common, familiar object or ritual. Within a one-off commission, a limited edition or a design for mass production, lies a passion for exploring the material and a desire to develop silver design forward. This results in expressive tableware for modern tastes, with a subtlety of detail and a poetry of form. The beauty and craftsmanship represented by each object should be taken for granted. But the idea of question is of utmost importance. Each item is designed to express itself; a vessel will express containment, a spout will be exulted for the way it pours, a handle will ask how to be held. Each function evokes thought by demanding a greater sense than that of bland convenience. I diversify the application of my ideas through public art and architectural features in which I strive for an honesty to material, manufacture and function whilst creating an aesthetic which is appropriate to the statement, building and its neighbours.

Price Guide

Silver commissions from £1000 to £70000

Silver stock items from £190 to £12000

Specialist Techniques

Spinning, forging, raising, fabrication and press-forming.

Training College

1984-87 BA (Hons), Three Dimensional Design, specialising in Silversmithing & Jewellery, Sheffield City Polytechnic 1990-92 MA Goldsmithing & Silversmithing, Metalwork & Jewellery, Royal College of Art, London

Exhibitions

2001
Home Sweet Home, travelling exhibition organised by The British Council - Museum of Art & Design, Helsinki, Finland; Oksnehallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Solo Show, Roger Billcliffe Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland

2000
Spoons, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
Contemporary British Silver, Galerie Marzee, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Masters of the 20th Century, Christies, New York, USA
Three Decades, The London Institute Gallery, Crafts Council touring exhibition
Silver 2000, The Crafts Council Shop, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, England
A Feast of Silver, Contemporary Applied Arts, London, England
A Focus for Prayer, Contemporary Christian Art, Six Chapel Row, Bath, England

1999
British Silverware, Lane Crawford, Hong Kong
Silver in Motion, Schoonhoven, The Netherlands
Decade, Royal College of Art, London, England
20th Century Silver, Fay Lucas Gallery, London, England

1998
Metalmorphosis. Tradition and Innovation in British Silver and Metalwork 1880-1998, Travelling Exhibition organised by the British Council in Association with the Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague, 1998 & Brohan Museum, Berlin, Germany
Silver & Tea a Perfect Blend, Goldsmiths' Hall, London, England

1997
British Metalwork, Velvet da Vinci, San Fransisco, USA
Contemporary Decorative Arts, Sotheby's London, England

1996
New Metalwork, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland

1995
Contemporary Silverware, Oxford Gallery, Oxford, England

1993-94
A Sparkling Party, Veiligheidsinstituut, Antwerp, Belgium
20th Century Silver, Crafts Council Gallery, London, England

Publications

Innovation and Design, Silver from Goldsmiths' Hall 1900-2001, Museet Pa Koldinghus, Denmark, 2002 Treasures of the Twentieth Century, Rosemary Ransome Wallis, The Goldsmiths' Company, London, 2000 Contemporary Silver, Benton Seymour Rabinovitch and Helen Clifford, London, 2000 Masterworks: 1900-2000, Christies New York, 2000 Silversmithing, A Manual of Design & Techniques, Keith Smith, 2000 Metalmorphosis. Tradition and Innovation in British Silver and Metalwork 1880-1998, Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague, 1998

Public Collections

2002 Candelabra, The Shipley Collection, Gateshead, England 2001 Processional Cross, St Augustine Church, New York, USA Desire, Steel Sculpture, Blackpool South Shore, England Sheffield Assay Office, Millennium Punch Bowl, England (design and produced by Chris Knight, Alex Brogden, Brett Payne & Keith Tyssen) 2000 Tequila Shots, Contemporary Art Society, Sheffield Museums & Galleries, England Soup Tureen, Contemporary Art Society, Birmingham City Museum, England 1999 Tequila Shots, Contemporary Art Society, Birmingham City Museum, England Processional Cross & Six Communion Cups, St Mary's Church, New York, USA 1998 Silver Candelabra, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, England 1997 The Sheffield Millennium Canteen, Sheffield Museums & Galleries, England Musee des Art Decoratifs, Louvre, France Made in Metal Heaven, Sheffield Public Arts Commission, England Silver Fish Slice, Professor Seymour Rabinovitch 1995 Two Light Candelabra, The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, London, England 1993 Waterpitcher, The P&O Makower Silver Trust/Crafts Council Collection, London, England

Awards

1996
Yorkshire and Humberside Arts Individual Artists Award

1995
Membership of the Crafts Council Selected Index

1993
New Exhibitors Prize, Chelsea Crafts Fair, Crafts Council
London Arts Board Grant, Individual Artists Award
The Crafts Council 'Setting Up' Award

1992
The Bakri Yehia Memorial Prize, Royal College of Art

1987
Sheffield Assay Office Prize