Spooner Virtual Exhibition now Open

We are delighted to announce the launch of Paul Spooner’s Virtual Exhibition today.

Paul Spooner was 60 earlier this year, and we are celebrating with this new exhibition of pieces he has made during the year.

During your visit you will see videos, photos and drawings of the pieces.  You can also eavesdrop on some ‘behind the scenes’ discussions and look through Paul’s sketchbook drawings of the works.  The exhibition includes a very special new ‘Centennial’ edition of Manet’s Olympia.

We hope you enjoy your visit.

Enter it here.

Franklin Institute Machines

I was recently at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.  The Amazing Machines Gallery has some of the best examples of basic mechanics that I have seen. Read more

‘Hungry for Love’ in Chicago

Our USA touring exhibition opened at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry earlier this month.

This Paul Spooner piece, ‘Hungry for Love’ from the Fourteen Ball Toy collection is the most complicated piece in the show, as you can see from Paul’s original sketch.  The waitress walks. The cart rolls. The sailor moves his arms, head and even throat, and the tray pops up at the end, to uncover two very wobbly jellies.

Each piece in this exhibition is labelled with it’s own Haiku. Here is the one for this piece:

Motion for its own
Delight. An automaton
Must not mean, but be.

Exhibition continues until March 2009.

Collector’s Piece

A one off piece from Carlos Zapata.

The ‘Collector’ is admiring his latest acquistion the little figure does sit-ups in the palm of the collector’s hand. This piece from 2005 has recently been on exhibition in North America, and is now available to buy.

Height: 56 cm
Price: £895.00

This is available to buy from our Online Store.

Nude with Concertina

We have a couple of new works from Paul Spooner as he warms up for his Virtual Exhibiton later this year.

The first is ‘Nude with Concertina’ (pictured), an ingenious mechanism moves the skeleton’s arms, and a delicate origami-paper concertina is played. There are two of these. To buy or for more information click here.

We also have a one-off piece, ‘Exercising One’s Demons’. Spooner plays with words and tricycles in this one - lovely. Click here for more information or to buy.

Sketchbook Moment No. 5

The Veil of Order. Click image to enlarge.

Sketchbook Moment No.4

A convenient folding dog.
Click image to enlarge.

New Kinetica Exhibition - London

Kinetica have a new exhibition featuring 10 UK and International artists who are experimenting with evolution, hybridisation and the infiltration of technology. The artworks vivify inanimate materials with energatic vitality and are a comment on the relationship between our technologically enhanced society and the natural world.  UK artists include Tim Lewis, Tom Wilkinson and Jim Bond.

Creatures Great and Small - which opens at the ROVE Gallery, 33 – 34 Hoxton
Square London N1 6NN until 19th October 2008.

If you are in the area, it may also be worth looking at the work of young kinetic artist Clara Clark (Mark Tanner Sculpture Award winner 2007/8) in her exhibition ‘Re-Creation’ at the Standpoint Gallery which is in Coronet Street, around the corner from Hoxton Square until 18th October.  One exhibit  ’Mechanical Sea’  with it’s layers of fabric, and partially concealed wooden mechanics show Clark’s continuing exploration of recreating the appearance of water.

Movable Illustration is Back

Automata - Movable Illustration by Aquio Nishida. Imported from Japan, this is a delightful book from automata maker and director of the Contemporary Toy museum of Japan, Aquio Nishida. There are plenty of drawings and photographs. The text is in Japanese with only partial English translations. However it’s still of great interest to the automata enthusiast and contains many examples of Mr Nishida’s work along with his ideas, tips and plans for making automata.

Price: £20
Buy it now in our Online Store.

Sketchbook Moment No.3

A robot creating his own pizza.
Click image to enlarge.