The idea is to die young as late as possible. — Ashley Montagu — Friday October 3rd — —

I love listening. It is one of the only spaces where you can be still and moved at the same time. — Nayyirah Waheed — Friday October 3rd — —

“What art does — maybe what it does most completely — is tell us, make us feel that what we think we know, we don’t. There are whole worlds around us that we’ve never glimpsed.” Greil Marcus — Friday October 3rd — —

Art Cartography

On the 15th of September during the London Design Festival, The Map House, London’s oldest seller of antique maps, relaunched their Mews Gallery with a beautiful exhibition of new work by prizewinning artist Kristjana S Williams, in a contemporary exploration of the traditional art of cartography which they named ‘Art Cartography’. For this exhibition Williams brings incredible historical works of art back to life using her eye-catching signature style, by featuring new vibrant digital collages on historical maps of locations such as London and China as well as maps of the world. Alongside these intricate prints, the artist will also present her first ever three-dimensional hand cut paper collaged maps, and a series of her incredible designs superimposed on to globes of the world. Beautiful!

Kristjana S Williams is an Icelandic artist who lives and works in London and is a graduate of Central St. Martins. Fascinated by maps, mythical creatures and Victorian engravings, she samples, mixes and matches to create imagery that takes hold of the her audiences imagination. Her experience spans across illustration, interiors, fashion and design. After 8 years as Creative Director of Beyond the Valley fashion and lifestyle brand, in 2012 Williams opened a studio focussing on her work as an artist. Recent collaborations with audio specialists Sennheiser 2014, as well as her corporate identity work for The Connaught Hotel in September 2014 demonstrates the range of depth of her unique and imaginative practice. She has previously won the D&AD In Book award 2014, and this year has been nominated for a Yellow Pencil Award. She won first prize in the New York Festivals Grand Prix (2014) and was shortlisted for the Cannes Lions Advertising Awards (2014).

Since opening her studio, Williams has gained global recognition and has presented her work in cities such as Milan, London and Shanghai. The creation of her homeware range has meant that her studio is now one of the best selling furniture brands in luxury department store Lane Crawford who have stores in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu. Further stockists of her designs include the Victoria & Albert Museum, Liberty department store, London and the Paul Smith Globe Store (all London). Recent work includes large scale mural displays at the V&A for the last London Design Festival, a collaboration with heritage furniture maker George Smith and wallpaper designer Cole & Son, designing exclusive prints for Liberty of London and commissions by the Chanel Group, among others.

The Map House is London’s oldest specialist antiquarian map seller with six galleries that contain the finest and most comprehensive selection of original antique maps offered for sale anywhere in the world. Founded as Map Publishers and Sellers by Alfred Sifton and Francis Praed in 1907, they have been selling maps to collectors, aviators, explorers, treasure hunters, Prime Ministers and the Royal Family for over a century. They have supplied maps of Antarctica to Ernest Shackleton, the Far East to Winston Churchill and the Western Front to Edward VIII, as well as significant pieces to the British Library and the Library of Congress amongst many other important institutions and collections.

For more information see here.