In the Design House | Kate Theodore, Hold On!, 2024

Kate Theodore
Hold On!, 2024
Hooksis series
Stoneware with matt white glaze
10 x 10 x 9 cm
4 x 4 x 3 ½ in.
Edition 6 of 30

Gavin Turk
Desert Island Scenario, 2003
Mahogany
103 x 19.5 x 8 cm
3ft 4 ½ x 7 ¾ x 3 ⅛ in.

'Hooks work to elevate other things, they are eye level elevators of all we enjoy and appreciate.'
- Kate Theodore

The Design House at Roche Court is a gallery space that demonstrates how sculpture and art can be integrated into your house. Designed by the architect Stephen Marshall, it was originally intended to be a house for Lady Bessborough, the founder of the New Art Centre. However, once building work had finished in 2018, she saw instead the potential for an open and light, yet domestic, exhibition space. Kate Theodore's HOOKSIS series encapsulates what the Design House is about, sculpture which serves a functional purpose.

The hooks are made by slip casting, a process that produces a thin yet incredibly strong ceramic shell. The 'slip' is a liquid clay, poured into a porous plaster mould that absorbs water from the slip and hardens. The excess slip is then drained from the mould, the cast hardens enough to be handled before being carefully removed from the mould and fired. The slip can also be reused, making this a sustainable ceramic practice. A limited edition of 30 hooks were made, available in sets of five or individually. They are beautiful objects, that are designed to be used.

Kate Theodore
Hold On!, 2024
Hooksis series
A set of 5 stoneware hooks with matt white glaze
10 x 10 x 9 cm each
4 x 4 x 3 ½ in. each
Editions 1-5 of 30