Kevin Coates

Statement

I approach all my output with what I see as the spirit of the jewel, whether it is to be worn, to be held and used, or placed on a table. It is the mental approach of the Goldsmith, one catholic in technique, and omnivorous of material. The opportunity and ability to work through the deep treasury of precious gems, minerals, and metals is an enormous privilege, and, at times, a true confrontation with 'prima materia' - with the very elements of Creation. This extensive 'palette of absolutes' is something to which I am constantly drawn, to express the ideas that continue to haunt the different stratas of my mind: a search for the music within the silence, the movement within the stillness, and the eternal moment within the relentless dynamic of time. It is always a pursuit of the metaphor which will first 'connect', then enshrine, the meaning to provoke that essential journey of response in others - and like that of the alchemist, it is a quest for the transcendental, one where the Stone's achievement lies in the ensoulment of the object itself.

Quotes:

"Coates is Britain's leading artist-goldsmith, with a renaissance imagination and an ingenuity to match" The TIMES

"At every level, Coates is a master of the imagination, and can balance the proverbial angels on the head of a pin" The International Herald Tribune

"His work seems to belong to the world of the "Wunderkammer". There is little doubt that Coates will be deemed one of the most remarkable jewellers-cum-goldsmiths to have emerged at the end of the 20th century" Financial Times

"There is no-one in England to compare with his genius" CRAFTS

"A perfectly executed mix of artistic skill and interpretation to be seen to be believed" The SUNDAY TIMES

"Kevin Coates is Britain's LEONARDO" HARPER'S & QUEEN

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