When Cutlery Becomes Art
To us, every piece of Studio William cutlery is a work of art. The time spent on each and every elegant design, inspired by the beauty and strength of the natural world around us and crafted with the utmost care and attention to detail.
But there is also a plethora of art around the world where cutlery is the focus.
As it turns out, we’re not alone in thinking that cutlery has the potential to be a thing of true beauty. Artists from every corner of the globe have used utensils ordinarily found on dining tables and in kitchen drawers as the inspiration for their creations.
South Carolina-based sculptor Matt Wilson is one such artist who brings cutlery to life in a totally unique way. Using old silverware welded together with care and expertise learned during his time working at Detyens Shipyard on the East Coast of the USA, Wilson truly takes upcycling to a new level, transforming cutlery into incredibly intricate models of birds and other wildlife.
For years, spoons were the main event in Wilson’s eyes. A far cry from their traditional place in the home, these culinary structures take shape in remarkable ways. The bowl of a spoon becoming a curved head, while handles evolve into jaunty tails. It wasn’t long before he started using his skills to transform other cutlery too, using the tines of forks and steak knives as sharp wing feathers, and serving spoons as proud, rounded chests.
But naturally, Wilson is not the only one who has seen cutlery for all it has to give to the art world. Osian Batyka-Williams, a college tutor from London Bridge, famously spent three weeks welding cutlery together to make a chair that was later valued at over £3,000. In an interview with The Telegraph, he explains the decision to use cutlery as his muse and material: “Throwing cutlery away is wasteful and sending it to be melted down and recast uses a lot of energy. I thought it would be better if I made something with it.” – a true pioneer for art in the eco age.
In the food industry, there have been other forms of art involving cutlery, but the shape and use of the utensils remained the same. Instead of making something new out of the metal, the metal used to create the cutlery was altered to make something new of food.
In 2015, Zoe Laughlin, director of the Institute of Making, a research group at University College London, was on a mission to make ‘the best spoon in the world’ and of course, as with any culinary science, an experiment was called for. In advance of an exhibition on the science of taste at the Science Museum in London, volunteers were invited to experience a blind tasting, trying a variety of foods from a selection of spoons, each coated in a different metal.
Copper coated spoons were found to inspire the sourest flavours, steel gave a salty kick and zinc became known for its tangy tingle. Gold, perhaps unsurprisingly, was the best spoon of all – enhancing sweet and creamy flavours to ambrosial heights. The art of good taste, if you will!
The Art of Good Taste
Creating the perfect tabletop has become something very desirable – for patrons, restauranteurs, and hoteliers alike. Instagrammable moments make for valuable marketing and powerful word of mouth, with venues scrambling to post the next big image that will beat the current world record – held by a boiled egg(!)
It seems art really does have no boundaries and sadly not everyone has good taste.
Fortunately, Studio William is well-seasoned in the art of designing the perfect table. Over 50% of all Michelin Star restaurants dress their tables with these multi-award winning forms that have, to date, received more design awards than any other cutlery brand.
Get Creative
Elevate your dining experience with sensory forms by Studio William. Call 01386 800 000.