On 20 June, the Kettle’s Yard Patrons visited two wonderful private collections, nestled in the heart of the British countryside.
The spectacularly sunny day began with refreshments and cake at the Karun Collection before Karun Thakar toured the Patrons through his home and collection. An avid collector since childhood, Karun is guided by his own curiosity. As a result, his collections are remarkably diverse. Karun believes that every object in his collection has a story to tell about the people who made it and the way that they lived. He lends and donates pieces to international museums to deepen the understanding of what they mean and the cultures they belong to.
The Karun Collection is internationally recognised for its focus on antique textiles and dress, with several thousand Indian examples, Japanese folk textiles, Afghanistan costume, West and North African textiles and weavings. The collection also contains African and Indian bronzes and jewellery, studio ceramics, Islamic and Venetian glass trade beads, early Indian terracottas and even hand painted African movie posters.
The group then made their way to a neighbouring village to visit Sarah Griffin’s home and collection. Sarah is is the Co-Chair of the Kettle’s Yard Development Committee and an independent curator and writer specialising in craft, with a background in modern and contemporary art.
Sarah showed the group through her beautiful collection of contemproray ceramics, that she has been collecting for over 25 years. The collection reflects early relationships with Edmund de Waal and Julian Stair and the exciting new possibilities for ceramics these makers were exploring in the mid 1990s. From there interests expanded into young makers emerging from the dynamic Ceramics MA at the RCA in the early to mid 2000s under the tutelage of Alison Britton and Felicity Aylieff, and further afield as international work from the USA, Japan and home-grown talent has flourished. The collection also includes work by: Richard Batterham, Jennifer Lee, Nao Matsunaga, Marit Tingleff, Renee So, Shawanda Corbett, glass by Nicholas Pope and furniture by Fred Baier.
The Patrons finished the afternoon with a delicious outdoor lunch in Sarah’s beautiful garden.
Kettle’s Yard are incredibly grateful to Karun and Sarah for their warm hospitality.
Kettle’s Yard Patrons
This event formed part of our engaging Patrons’ programme. Becoming a Kettle’s Yard Patron means joining a community of likeminded individuals committed to supporting Kettle’s Yard’s mission of making great art accessible to all. The generous support of our Ede Circle and Directors’ Circle enables us to continue to commission artists, plan conservation projects and deliver our innovative exhibition, music, and learning programmes.
