In their first collaboration – of hopefully many to come – Marie Hagerty and Robert Foster explore the dynamics of light and form through varied anodised aluminium designs. The pieces offer a curious fusion of figurative and utilitarian, generating a collection that encompasses characteristics of the artists themselves.

Despite the exhibition being confined to one square room, the artists have utilized the space to display the diligent craftsmanship encompassed within each design. The boisterous hollowware is flaunted on white plinths that vary in height, allowing us to explore all facets and angles of the artwork.  Layers of aluminum are woven together to create an abstract cohesion of smooth shapes and contrasting colours. The use of aluminum is explored in a sleek and glossy manner. The harsh and urban characteristics usually associated with the material have been weakened and replaced with smooth edges and an elusive curved texture.

Exhibited in the heart of Melbourne at the Karen Woodbury Gallery, Hagerty and Foster’s aluminium designs portray unique and influential characteristics of each artist’s various practices and techniques. Hagerty’s wonderment in symbolism is liberated through Fosters utilitarian manufacturing. The exhibition encompasses lighting, standing mirrors, hollowware and mobiles – which dangle from the ceiling and whirl effortlessly creating tenuous shadows on the walls. The eccentricity of each design re-invents the urban domestic object and captures aesthetic innovation.

Foster deviates from his previous hollowware designs in this collaboration to explore a more abstract and fluid means of design and production. As the founder of the manufacturing company F!NK & Co., Foster has distributed products nationally and internationally. F!NK & Co. designs have showcased in some of the world’s major art institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.

Hagerty also has a range of public and private collections held across Australia. Her artwork has exhibited at institutions such as the Ian Potter Museum, the National Gallery of Victoria and at GOMA Queensland Art Gallery. Her acrylic and oil paintings are celebrated from their optical abstraction and contrast between reality and fiction.

Through this collaboration Hagerty and Foster demonstrate the influence of individual style and preferred discipline within the production of art. The exhibition is small and concise, yet does not lack awe or innovation. Hagerty and Foster’s designs embody the glimpses of visual magnificence hidden amongst the industrialized metropolitan city.

Marie Hagerty and Robert Foster exhibit at the Karen Woodbury Gallery until March 28.

For more information about the exhibition click here.