Jude in collaboration with Rex-Kralj October 20, 2015 10:00
Jude working on Pirate Stacker for Vivienne Westwood, photo Ruth Ward
JUDE DENNIS in collaboration with REX-KRALJ
A special collaboration between upholstery artist Jude Dennis and furniture company Rex-Kralj will be curated by Room39 for the Tranzit Store pop-up.
The upholstery intervention will be a mix of traditional materials and techniques, an organic, instinctual process. Its exact design is yet to be decided...
“Making it unique using traditional upholstery techniques you can alter people’s perception of both the chair and the craft,” says Jude Dennis.
The Rex Lounge Chair was designed by Niko Kralj in 1956 and is now manufactured by Rex-Kralj. The legendary design has been included in the Design Collection of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, Collection of Designmuseum Danmark in Copenhagen, MAK Museum in Vienna and the Museum for Industrial Design in Prague. The Jude Dennis x Rex-Kralj Collaboration is created specifically for Tranzit Store and it will be the first time this piece will have been exhibited.
“I am a designing, making artist fascinated by the traditions, techniques and materials of upholstery. I’m interested in the tensions between uniformity and individuality. My work explores my own personal response to institutionalisation and the establishment and those fine lines between art, craft, design and manufacturing. My upholstery interventions simultaneously celebrate and subvert the craft and its traditions whilst bringing an honesty of process and humour to my work.”
Jude spent most of her working life in the art departments of the creative industries, prop-making, set-building and on-site styling, working worldwide for high profile clients. In 2007 she returned to University, gaining a City and Guilds in Traditional and Modern Upholstery, winning several awards for her forward thinking approach to upholstery design. It is this combination of experiences and the importance and love Jude places on hand skills and finishing that provides the strong aesthetic to her work.
Born and bred ‘up North’ in England, Jude has been based in London for the last 13 years and currently combines working out of her studio in Hackney, East London with working part time as the upholstery technician and business development coordinator at London Metropolitan University, The Cass (where she trained). Jude also co-curates ‘Second Sitters’ with colleague Hannah Stanton - a series of exhibitions highlighting the craft of upholstery.
In April 2015 Jude Dennis collaborated live in-store on a new Westwood inspired chair for the Stacker series. The event was part of the ’Alchemy: material obsessions’ show hosted by Vivienne Westwood Milan as part of Milan Design Week.
She has also been involved in demonstration workshops and curating exhibitions at Camberwell Space UAL London and Tent London.
