Contemporary Art Wallpaper

William Kilburn (1745-1818) was one of the UK’s leading craftsmen and most celebrated textile artists of the 18^th century. He is best known for illustrating William Curtis' Flora Londinensis, as well as being a printer of calico. He was also was the chief petitioner in March 1787, requesting Parliament for design copyright protection in the textile industry. More widely known for his opulent floral designs, the wallpapers Old Oak and Love Leaves were taken from an unusual set of watercolours discovered in a sketchbook by descendent Gabriel Sempill. Marking a departure from the chintz that Kilburn was recognized for, a full reproduction was published by Simon Lawrence’s Fleece Press in 2014. Mr Kilburn's Calicos: William Kilburn's Fabric Printing Patterns from the Year 1800 includes an exquisite facsimile of the sketchbook in its entirety and modern takes on Kilburn’s motifs, realised as repeats by textile designer Sholto Drumlanrig. The V&A holds a vast body of the botanical prints that made Kilburn famous, but the watercolours in Mr Kilburn’s Calicos reveal a change in fashion, moving towards more sophisticated, simpler and sometimes abstract designs that have a distinctively contemporary feel. Old Oak in Sky Blue|Puce & Pomona Green|Fawn and Love Leaves in Rose Pink|Saffron & Cameleopard|Prussian Blue are now available to buy.

Edward Bawden CBE RA (1903–1989) was one of the most significant artists of his time. His long career spanned much of of the twentieth century, and comfortably straddled boundaries between the fine and applied arts. In 1922 he entered the Royal College on the same day as Eric Ravilious who remained a friend for life. They had the good fortune to be taught by Paul Nash. During the following decade he designed wallpapers for the Curwen Press, tiles for Poole Potteries and posters for the Underground. His work was inspired by nature, often with a hint of the mythical and mischievous humour as is evident in his ‘Wave’ wallpaper.

Bawden's Wave wallpaper is now available to buy from CommonRoom.    

Susie Green (born 1979, Shrewsbury, UK) studied BA Fine Art at Newcastle University (2002) and MA Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art and Design, London (2009).

Exhibitions and projects include Dwarling, my Darling (performance with Rory Pilgrim as The Brilliant State), Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, All Out of Love (screening with Simon Bayliss), Tate St Ives, End Cycle (performance with Rory Pilgrim), Flat Time House, London, Fluid Medium, performance at Spike Island, Bristol, Double Dare: Day & Night, (performance with Dawn Bothwell), BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, The Decorator and the Thief, NGCA Sunderland, Space Time: The Future, Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridge,Tip of the Iceberg, Contemporary Art Society, London, Visible Hands, Ilmin Museum, Seoul, New Contemporaries, Cornerhouse Manchester and A Foundation, London.

In 2017 she had a solo show at Grand Union, Birmingham and in 2018 at Workplace Gallery, Gateshead

Susie has designed Ribbons Wrap You Up for CommonRoom susiegreen.co.uk

The Grantchester Pottery is an artistic collaboration between artists Giles Round & Phil Root with ongoing contributions from Michael Fullerton, Olivia Hegarty, Sophie von Hellermann, Maria Loboda, Anne Low, Dietmar Lutz, Edwin Pickstone, Cally Spooner and Sam Windett. The group produce artwork alongside functional and decorative objects. All work remains unattributed, with the ceramics marked only by the TGP emblem. The Grantchester Pottery has exhibited in many public institutions including the ICA, Whitechapel Gallery and Camden Arts Centre, London and David Dale Gallery, Glasgow. They have designed Stony Point 1972 for CommonRoom www.thegrantchesterpottery.com  

Charles Francis Annesley Voysey (1857–1941) was an English architect, furniture and textile designer, perhaps perfectly described as 'an architect of individuality'. Awarded the RIBA Gold Medal in 1940, at the age of 83 and some years since his last architectural project, Voysey was one of the leading figures of the Arts and Crafts movement and, some say, a forerunner in Modern Architecture, although he resented attempts to characterise his work and wilfully rejected those that were made. His architectural work was distinctive and memorable as is the furniture, wallpaper, fabric and domestic fittings he fastidiously designed with influences drawn from Arthur Mackmurdo to William Morris. Voysey's 1918 design Lioness and Palms is now available from CommonRoom. You can find more examples of his work here: http://www.voyseysociety.org

James Ferris (b. 1980, based in London) gained his BA in Philosophy and Fine Art from Reading University (2003), and gained his MA Fine Art from Goldsmiths, London (2009). Recent solo and group exhibitions include 5050 Limoncello, London (2012) dienstgebaeude, Zurich (2012); ‘My Brother is a Hairy Man’, George Polke, London (2011); ‘Young British Art’, Limoncello, London (2011); and ‘Let’s Be Civil’, And/Or, London (2011). In 2014 James was artist in Residence at USF, Bergen, Norway and exhibited in 'I am a Painting', Kumu, Tallin, Estonia. This year he has been awarded the prestigious Derek Hill Foundation Scholarship at the British School of Rome. James has designed 282 Ways of making a Salad for CommonRoom. James' new website is http://jamesferris.hotglue.me/. No one can find it.     

Kate Hawkins (b. 1980 Southampton, based in London) studied at Edinburgh University and the Slade, UCL and in 2014 completed a practice-based PhD at Winchester School of Art. The same year she also launched CommonRoom. In 2013 she exhibited in Bloomberg New Contemporaries, at Spike Island and the ICA and in 2014 New Order II at the Saatchi gallery. Recent Exhibitions in include ‘Painting in Time’, the Tetley, Leeds, (2015) ‘Painting in Time: Part Two’, the Sullivan Galleries, SAIC, Chicago (2016) ‘Idea Home’, MIMA, Middlesborough (2017). Kate has designed Dressing and Undressing and Be Yourself or Something Else for CommonRoom. www.katehawkins.co.uk

Goshka Macuga (b. 1967 Warsaw, lives in London) studied at Central Saint Martin’s School of Art and in Goldsmiths College, London. In 2008, she was amongst the four nominees for the prestigious Turner Prize, awarded to the most outstanding young British artist. She has exhibited in such galleries as Whitechapel and Tate Britain in London and in Kunsthalle Basel. In April 2011, she opened an individual exhibition at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. She also participated in the 2012 edition of the Documenta in Kassel and was the winner of the Arnold Bode Prize 2011. In 2013 she had solo shows at The Swedish Contemporary Art Foundation, Stockholm and Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York. In 2014 she exhibited in the 8th Berlin Biennale. Goshka has designed Back to Front for CommonRoom. www.katemacgarry.com www.galerie-ruediger-schoettle.de www.andrewkreps.com

Kate Owens (b. 1979, Bo’ness, Scotland based in London) gained her MA Sculpture at Royal College of Art, London (2008), and her BA Fine Art: Painting at Edinburgh College of Art (2002). Recent solo shows include Limoncello, London (2013); Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop (2013); The Goma, Madrid (2012); Seventeen Gallery, London (2011) and the Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh (2007). Recent international group shows include Altman Siegel, San Francisco; Chez Valentin, Paris; Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridgeshire (all 2012); Baltic 29, Newcastle; Fold Gallery, London; Galerie Arnaud Deschin, Marseille (all 2013); Frutta, Rome; Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridge; DREI, Cologne (all 2014) Kate has designed Dead End for CommonRoom. www.kateowens.co.uk www.limoncellogallery.co.uk