2022 (ongoing)
Glazed ceramic, steel, concrete, stone
2022 (ongoing)
Interactive wall pieces
Polyphony means a musical texture composed of multiple melodies that merge to form a harmony. Similar to melodies, the array of fused glass and sculpted ceramic on the wall pieces come together to form a dance between hard and soft, synthetic and organic. In a world of mass production where strict requirements dictate the forms of objects, Barry liberates materials by allowing them to crack, morph and melt. From puckering glass to overflowing metal, the pieces embody the materials in their native world.
Starting with remnants from a bygone era of ornamentalism, Barry takes old textured glass from broken windows, and decorative tin plaques from scrap yards to see how these materials and craft techniques can be reimagined for our contemporary age. By melting the fragments of broken glass they reawake, and mingle with one another to form new diverse relationships and patterns. Through heat, the tin plaques also reach a molten state, relieving their former appearance so they can take on more fluid, organic forms respective of the material’s natural tendencies.
By viewing each wall piece as an independent organism, Barry composes it’s elements to meet the piece’s needs. For example, one of the pieces uses solar to store energy, and illuminates itself when it gets dark. Another piece uses a series of switches to add tactility to changing the colour and intensity of the light.
In a time when our domestic environment is dominated by straight edges, standardisation and efficiency, Barry believes it’s important to embrace more organic form languages that reflect the rhythm of the natural world, albeit in an unprecedented way.
2022
Sculpture Collection
Euorsa is a journey into the unknown. Barry began researching why we perceive some objects as uncanny. Through his research he realised that when an object cannot be labelled or categorised, we find it weird or unsettling. To challenge this natural defence mechanism, Barry created a series of objects that are completely detached from meaning or understanding, in order to invite us to think more openly about the world around us.
Starting with pieces of found material, such as a broken sink, or discarded plastic, Barry began growing shapes, forms and colours from these artefacts, imagining how they could be transformed into something unprecedented. By applying unrestrained gestures to the materials, such as burning, mixing or smashing, he examined how the materials react when given a sense of freedom. Through this loose intervention the objects begin to build a sense of autonomy, and find a place in their alternate reality.
2020
Furniture made from curbside couches. In collaboration with Sarah Roseman.
Fluid furniture is a research into the new horizon of the material world. How will our approach to material change once we no longer have virgin material?
Fluid Furniture comprises of Lalalamp and Chchchair which are made entirely from discarded couches. The process was carried out in quarantine as the domestic space became a furniture transformation factory. From weaving, melting, rope making and sculpting, Barry Llewellyn and I utilised all the ingredients found in curbside couches to form our creations.
2018
A mechanism for capturing movement
Final Touch is a project about sentimentality and capturing the moment of physical touch. While there are many methods of capturing moments, few of them offer a level of tactility. The current pendulum machine records movements by autonomously starting its mechanisms based on a series of gravity controlled timers, that turn a wheel that records pencil movements and translates them into markings on a paper reel over time. The next iteration will involve translating these gestures into a physical response.
2019
Bringing light to the little things left behind on the streets
2020
Table and ceramic set
Like antiques found in second hand shops, the history behind the objects we surround ourselves with can often become lost or forgotten. Food for Thought aims to bring this to light by merging classical and contemporary design together, to seat a discussion about the implications our past has on our present. How has the Netherlands’ colonial past influenced Dutch design and culture today?
Barry Llewellyn (b. 1998) is an Irish designer, currently based in Eindhoven, Netherlands. Barry received his BA from Design Academy Eindhoven, during which he established his practice centred around creating experimental objects for interior space. Often starting with remains as diverse as broken ceramic and discarded plastic, he balances a juxtaposition between the artefacts we consider waste and those that we treasure dearly. By binding these materials together, he grows new forms which are rich in colour, texture and diversity to shape stories that are both materially and socially relevant to our time.
‘At The Edge Of Everything’, Cabin, Berlin, DE – 2023
‘Beautiful Garbage – GOOD SESSIONS Booth – Collectible’, Collectible Fair, Brussels, BE – 2023
‘Frozen Fountain Booth – Collectible’, Collectible Fair, Brussels, BE – 2023
‘Object Rotterdam – New Talent’, Rotterdam, NL – 2023
‘Quelque chose d’irréel’, Galerie Scene Ouverte, Paris, FR – 2023
‘Cruising: Discomfort as a Tool to Depatriarchise Design’, Huiden Club, Rotterdam, NL – 2022
Frozen Fountain 30th Anniversary – Frozen Fountain, Amsterdam, NL -2022
Fragments, Galerie Scene Ouverte, Paris, FR – 2022
The Talent Pool, The Pool, Sectie C, Eindhoven, NL – Dutch Design Week -2022
GS 22, Design Academy Eindhoven Grad show – Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven, NL – 2022
Glue Amsterdam, Frozen Fountain, Amsterdam, NL – 2022
Neo Normality, solo show – Salon Venman, Eindhoven, NL – 2022
Moving Traces 06, Atelier Ecru Gallery, Ghent, BE – 2022
ESCAPISM, Collectible – Curated Section, Brussels, BE – 2022
(Non) Depleted, Gr_und, Berlin, DE – 2021
(Non) Depleted, Virtual Exhibition – Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven, NL – 2020
Anarchy, Cor Unum design competition (1st place), Den Bosch, NL -2020
Film Elective, De Fabriek group show, Eindhoven, NL – 2019
Elephant in the Room, Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven, NL – 2019
Typeface by Charlotte Rohde, website design and photography by Barry Llewellyn.
