Bob Crooks | Kaleidoscope | catalogue | December 2 - 23 2017

BOB CROOKS KALEIDOSCOPE

BOB CROOKS KALEIDOSCOPE 2-23 DECEMBER 2017

16 Dundas Street, Edinburgh EH3 6HZ 0131 558 1200 mail@scottish-gallery.co.uk www.scottish-gallery.co.uk

Front cover: Kaleidoscope I, 2017 (detail), (cat. 7) Left: Bob Crooks in his glass studio, Devon, 2014.

KALEIDOSCOPE The Scottish Gallery is delighted to present Kaleidoscope by Bob Crooks which is his fourth solo exhibition and is one of our final exhibitions celebrating our 175th anniversary. Bob Crooks has created over 25 new pieces for this special anniversary exhibition which contains new directions and exciting developments.

The definition of the word Kaleidoscope is an optical instrument with two or more reflecting surfaces inclined to each other in an angle but the association of colour and of refraction of light are motifs inherent in the glassmaker’s art. Bob Crooks has been described as a colourist at heart and each new work is a combination of his experience, technical prowess and imagination, the end result always a dazzling visual delight. Kaleidoscope immediately conjures up a vision of multiple layers of merging colour and pattern which is at the heart of Crooks’ work, large or small scale. He creates complex depths with a confident use of colour and line combining various ancient, traditional glassmaking skills such as reticello, millefiori, murrhine and cut glass to create new contemporary forms. As Dan Klein commented in 2006, Bob Crooks draws inspiration from the process itself.

He enjoys striving for perfection and the only way of achieving this is by repetitive making whilst trying for a better result each time. There is always room for just that little bit of something extra, more expression, more fluidity, more colour control.

Every artist looks for inspiration. Bob Crooks finds it in shifting imagery and distortion.

When Bob is making work in the studio, it is live theatre. The choreography between assistant and artist appears seamless, the pace ever-changing between the artist and the material, hours of focused endeavour, with a fast, furious and passionate finale capturing a moment, giving the final character to the piece.

Only in the hands of a master craftsman can such highly sophisticated finished works seem spontaneous and effortless.

CHRISTINA JANSEN

Kaleidoscope VII (cat. 4)

1 Kaleidoscope V, 2017 H35 x W45 x D20 cms

2 Kaleidoscope VI, 2017 H35 x W47 x D22 cms

3 Kaleidoscope II, 2017 H49.5 x W30 x D12 cms

4 Kaleidoscope VII, 2017 H30 x W89 cms

5 Kaleidoscope IV, 2017 H52 x W31 x D13 cms

6 Kaleidoscope III, 2017 H55 x W30 x D14 cms

7 Kaleidoscope I, 2017 H48 x W31 x D13 cms

8 Monochrome, 2017 H59.5 x W27 x D15 cms

9 Amethyst Fiori II, 2017 H57.5 x W35 x D15 cms

10 Amethyst Fiori, 2016 H38 x W47 x D25 cms

11 From Cherry Blossom Series IX, VI, 2017 Slate L36 x W10 cms Glass 12 cms diameter

12 From Cherry Blossom Series IX, Trio, 2017 Slate L49 x W23 cms Glass 7.5 - 10 cms diameter

13 From Cherry Blossom Series IX, I, 2017 Slate L55 x W18 cms Glass 10 cms diameter

14 Confiserie du Verre, 2016 H102 x D30 cms

15 Fruits de Verre, 2017 H18 x W60 x D49 cms

16 Complexity Vase, 2017 H54 x W30 x D16 cms

17 Concision & Grace II, 2017 H25 x W42 x D30 cms

18 Concision & Grace I, 2017 H32 x W35 x D26 cms

19 Spinning Top II, 2017 H44 x D25 cms

20 Spinning Top III, 2017 H42 x D26 cms

21 Spinning Top IV, 2017 H40 x D26 cms

BOB CROOKS Born 1985-89 1990-94 1994-2002 2002-Present

1965, London West Surrey College of Art & Design, BA (Hons) Set up hot glass studio for First Glass, Newent, Gloucestershire Set up hot glass studio for First Glass, Clapham, London Hot glass studio, Devon

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2017 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh 2016 Ruthin Craft Centre, Wales 2014 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh 2013 John Noott Galleries, Worcestershire

Royal Academy of Arts, London 2012 New Leaf Gallery, Monmouth 2011 Neville Johnson, London 2010 Old Court House Gallery, Cumbria

Royal Academy of Arts, London 2009 Cowdy Gallery, Gloucestershire 2008 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh 2007 Cecilia Colman Gallery, London 2006 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh

Susan Megson Gallery, Gloucestershire 2005 Church Gallery, Devon

Norton Gallery, Spain 2003 Susan Megson Gallery, New York

Roger Billcliffe Gallery, Glasgow

Norton Gallery, Spain

SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh Victoria & Albert Museum, London Bristol Museum & Art Gallery Broadfield House Glass Museum, Stourbridge European Museum of Modern Glass, Germany The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge Crafts Council, London Mobile Museum of Art, Alabama, USA Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool Museums Ruskin Glass Centre, Stourbridge Cowdy Gallery Contemporary Glass Collection, Gloucestershire Manchester Metropolitan University Anglo American Art Collection, London The Sainsbury Collection, Norwich Anthony House Collection, Cornwall Standard Life Art Collection, Edinburgh British Council Collection, London Dan Klein & Alan J. Poole (Private Collection), London

Published by The Scottish Gallery to coincide with the exhibition BOB CROOKS - KALEIDOSCOPE 2-23 December 2017 Exhibition can be viewed online at www.scottish-gallery.co.uk/bobcrooks ISBN: 978-1-910267-70-7 Designed by www.kennethgray.co.uk Photography by Ian Jackson Printed by Allander All rights reserved. No part of this catalogue may be reproduced in any form by print, photocopy or by any other means, without the permission of the copyright holders and of the publishers.

Bob Crooks would like to thank the following for their assistance in making this collection a visual success: Sarah Edwards Matthew Walsh Fabien Pelle Louise Murphy

16 Dundas Street, Edinburgh EH3 6HZ 0131 558 1200 mail@scottish-gallery.co.uk www.scottish-gallery.co.uk