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Raymond Elston

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Raymond Elston was an abstract artist, fashion designer and furniture designer. He was influenced by abstract expressionism and modernist principles, working primarily in furniture design, the fashion industry and, to a lesser extent in abstract art.

Early life and education

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Little is known of Elston's early life. He attended the Central School of Arts and Crafts between 1948-51, where he was taught by Victor Pasmore and studied contemporaneously with Anthony Hill [1][2] and Terence Conran. [3]

Career and artistic style

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In 1951 Elston, "a trained fashion designer",[4] worked with Terence Conran, making denim clothes for the Lancashire-based textiles company David Whitehead, as well as making wood and metal furniture with Conran and Gill Pickles. [5][6] He shared lodgings with Anthony Hill in Sloane Court West after Conran moved out.[7]

In 1964, Elston was designing interiors and furniture for Contract Interiors Ltd at 203 Kings Road, London S.W.3. [8][9] Some of his work is illustrated in Conran's books.[10][11]

Elston had been an "Ordinary Country Member" of the Chelsea Arts Club in London since at least 1993.[12] In 1994 he was interviewed by Nicholas Ind, the author of a book titled "Terence Conran: The Authorised Biography", in which he recounted his early experiences with Conran and Anthony Hill.[13]

Elston's artistic style, based on his mobiles, stabiles[a] and furniture designs, was abstract and modernist.

Artistic output

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Elston is largely remembered for his mobiles, however the main body of his work throughout his life was involved with designing and manufacturing clothes, and later furniture design and decoration - initially with his friend Terence Conran.[14] Examples of his artwork can be found in exhibition photographs of mobiles taken around 1951,[15][16] and later in books published by Conran.[10][11]

Exhibitions and legacy

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Elston exhibited his work with Terence Conran, Adrian Hill and other members of the Constructionists, between 1951 to 1953.[17][18] Neither Elston nor Conran contributed to subsequent fine-art shows; no doubt both found the lack of interest in their work disappointing.[19]

Notes

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  1. ^ A stationary abstract construction, usually of wire, metal, wood, etc.

References

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  1. ^ Grieve (1990), p. 774.
  2. ^ a b Fowler (2006), p. 69.
  3. ^ Ind (1995), p. 54.
  4. ^ Conran (2016), p. 28.
  5. ^ Ind (1995), p. 64.
  6. ^ The Life of Terence Conran.
  7. ^ Ind (1995), p. 82.
  8. ^ Young (1964), p. 170.
  9. ^ Inchbald (1965), p. 284.
  10. ^ a b Conran (1974), p. 109.
  11. ^ a b Conran (1976), p. 83.
  12. ^ Chelsea Arts Club 1993 Yearbook (1993), p. 12.
  13. ^ Ind (1995).
  14. ^ Ind (1995), p. 79.
  15. ^ a b Grieve (1990), p. 779.
  16. ^ The Modern House (2024).
  17. ^ Jobse (2005), p. 251.
  18. ^ Grieve (2005), p. 12.
  19. ^ Ind (1995), p. 77.
  20. ^ Grieve (2005), p. 15.
  21. ^ Morris & Radford (1983), p. 85.
  22. ^ Grieve (2005), pp. 18–22.
  23. ^ Grieve (1990), p. 780.
  24. ^ Grieve (2005), pp. 24–25.

Sources

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  • Fowler, Alan (2006), Constructivist Art in Britain 1913-2005, Winchester School of Art
  • Grieve, Alastair (1990). "Towards an art of environment: exhibitions and publications by a group of avant-garde abstract artists in London 1951-55". The Burlington Magazine. 132, No. 1052 (November): 773–781.
  • Grieve, Alastair (2005), Constructed Abstract Art in England After the Second World War: A Neglected Avant-Garde, Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-10703-6
  • Ind, Nicholas (1995). Terence Conran: The Authorised Biography. Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN 0 283 06201 0.
  • Jobse, Jonneke (2005). De Stijl Continued: The Journal Structure (1958-1964) An Artists' Debate. Rotterdam: OIO Publishers. ISBN 90 6450 577 2.
  • Montfort, Anne (20 October 2012). Reconstitution D'une Abstraction: Geneèse et Définition D'use Forme D'art Constructif à Londres de 1927 à 1961 (PDF). Université François - Rebelais de Tours.
  • Conran, Terence (2016). My Life in Design. London Conran Octopus. p. 28. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  • "The Life of Terence Conran". Christian Watson. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  • "Koya co-founder Shuko Oda on the mid-century pieces that fill her 1960s townhouse in Forest Hill, south-east London". The Modern House. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  • Young, Dennis; Young, Barbara (1964). Furniture in Britain Today. New York: George Wittenborn. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  • Chelsea Arts Club 1993 Yearbook. Chelsea Arts Club Ltd. 1993. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  • Morris, Lynda; Radford, Robert (1983). The Story of the AIA, Artists International Association, 1933 - 1953. Oxford: The Museum of Modern Art. p. 85.
  • Inchbald, Jaqueline (1965). Interior Design and Decoration '66. Design Yearbook Ltd. p. 284. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  • Conran, Terence (1974). The House Book. Crown Publishers. p. 109. ISBN 0-517-52627-1. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  • Conran, Terence (1976). Le grand livre de la décoration contemporaine. Elsevier Séquoia. p. 83. ISBN 2-8003-0159-7. Retrieved 4 December 2024.

See also

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