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Raymond Elston was a textile designer, furniture designer and abstract artist. He was influenced by abstract expressionism and modernist principles and is remembered for his early work with the fashion and furniture designer Terence Conran, and for the mobiles he exhibited in the early 1950s with the Constructionist Group.

Early life and education

Little is known of Elston's early life. He attended the Central School of Arts and Crafts between 1948-51. Victor Pasmore taught there during this period, during which Elston got to know Anthony Hill and Terence Conran.

Career and artistic style

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

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

Elston had been a member of the Chelsea Arts Club in London since at least 1993. In 1994 he was interviewed by author Nicholas Ind whose book, entitled "Terence Conran: The Authorised Biography", recounts Elston's early experiences with Conran and Anthony Hill.

Elston's artistic style - based on his work with mobiles, stabiles and furniture design - was abstract and modernist.

Artistic output

Elston is largely remembered for his mobiles, however the main body of his work throughout his life was involved with designing and manufacturing textiles, and later furniture design and decoration - initially with his friend Terence Conran.

Examples of Elston's work can be found in exhibition photographs taken between 1951 and 1953, and later in books published by Conran and others.

Exhibitions and legacy

Elston exhibited his work with Terence Conran, Adrian Hill and other members of the Constructionist Group, between 1951 and 1953. Neither Elston nor Conran contributed to subsequent fine-art shows; Conran was dissapointed with the lack of interest in his work.

• First Constructionist Exhibition, February 1951, The London Group
• Abstract Paintings, Sculptures, Mobiles, 22 May - 11 June 1951, A.I.A. Gallery
• Second Weekend Exhibition, 11 - 14 July 1952, 22 Fitzroy Street
• Third Weekend Exhibition, 1 - 4 May 1953, 22 Fitzroy Street

Notes

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

References

1. Grieve (1990), p. 774.
2. ^ 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. sfnp error: no target: CITEREFThe_Life_of_Terence_Conran (help)
7. Ind (1995), p. 82.
8. Young (1964), p. 170. sfnp error: no target: CITEREFYoung1964 (help)
9. Inchbald (1965), p. 284.
10. ^ Conran (1974), p. 109.
11. ^ Conran (1976), p. 83.
12. Chelsea Arts Club 1993 Yearbook (1993), p. 12. sfnp error: no target: CITEREFChelsea_Arts_Club_1993_Yearbook1993 (help)
13. Ind (1995).
14. Ind (1995), p. 79.
15. ^ Grieve (1990), p. 779.
16. The Modern House (2024). sfnp error: no target: CITEREFThe_Modern_House2024 (help)
17. Inchbald (1965), p. 184.
18. Jobse (2005), p. 251.
19. Grieve (2005), p. 12.
20. Ind (1995), p. 77.
21. Grieve (2005), p. 15.
22. Morris & Radford (1983), p. 85.
23. Grieve (2005), pp. 18–22.
24. Grieve (1990), p. 780.
25. Grieve (2005), pp. 24–25.

Sources

• 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. 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.
• Inchbald, Jaqueline (1965). Interior Design and Decoration '66. Design Yearbook Ltd. 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. ISBN 2-8003-0159-7. Retrieved 4 December 2024.

See also

• British Constructivists
• Terence Conran
• Anthony Hill
• Mobile
• Stabile

External links

• "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.
• Watson, Christian. "The Life of Terence Conran". CHRISTIAN WATSON. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
• "Alexander Calder: The Creation of a Stabile". YouTube. Retrieved 6 December 2024.

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