91ÊÓÆµ

Mr Rajesh Gogna

Job: Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader for BA Design Crafts

Faculty: Arts, Design and Humanities

School/department: School of Design

Address: 91ÊÓÆµ, The Gateway, Leicester, LE1 9BH

T: 0116 2078675

E: rajesh.gogna@dmu.ac.uk

W:

 

Personal profile

Rajesh has significant and progressive experience forged by establishing a career as a contemporary craft practitioner and educator within the field of Contemporary Silversmithing and Jewellery commanding interest from a worldwide audience since 1998.

Rajesh is a freeman of the Goldsmiths' Company and gained freedom of the City of London in 2013 and has his work in the permanent collections of the V&A Museum in London, National Museum of Wales in Cardiff, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and Cartwright Hall in Bradford. Hallaton Helmet Recreation No.1: Harborough Museum & Art Gallery and Recreation No.2: Hallaton Museum, Leicestershire.

Rajesh has established an impressive portfolio commanding interest both nationally and internationally through his unique approach to design.

He has created Contemporary Silver for the Government of India inspired by historical artifacts. Exhibitions include- Collect Art Fair London, Powerlong Museum Bejing China, Christies London, Koldinghus Museum, Denmark, 13th Silver Triennial in Germany and Beyond Materials in Bangkok, Side by Side- Edge to Edge in Finland and Design Festival at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

Research group affiliations

Publications and outputs

Previous Exhibitions

Feb  26   -COLLECT Contemporary Art Fair- Crafts Council- Somerset House, London

May 25   - Silver Art at Bonhams- London Craft Week.

Mar 25    -V&A Acquisition of ‘Golden Moment’ in the permanent Metalwork Collection,London.

My research draws inspiration from my British and Indian heritage, and I have a keen interest in historical and functional silverware. Tea drinking is a social custom that often, and across many cultures, carries themes of ritual. For many, the teapot sits at the forefront of the ‘ceremony’. For me, the teapot is a symbol of togetherness and friendship, of telling stories and sharing confidences. As a student I studied tea ware in the V&A collection and am interested in exploring global networks and the meeting of the East and West in the act of drinking tea.

Artefact ‘Golden Moment’  is part of a new series of research in which I have been exploring tea drinking and the meeting of cultures. This work is made from anodised aluminium, in two halves and has been hand raised. The aluminium has been anodised and the two sheets have been chemically bonded together using space grade materials.

Feb  25   -COLLECT Contemporary Art Fair- Crafts Council- Somerset House, London

Mar 24    -Hallaton Helmet Recreations on Permanent Display at Harborough Museum & Hallaton Museum in Leicestershire. Examine the potential of using 3D Printing & Electroforming (Metalization)- Stretching the possibilities of Digital & Analogue craft making to recreate and interpret archaeological finds. 

Sept 23   -Contemporary International Metal Arts Triennial, Shanghai Powerlong Museum

Sept 21   -‘Celebrating Silver’ 25 years of CBS Symposium & Exhibition- at De Montfort University Gallery, Leicester

Mar 21    -‘Unzipped: Tailoring Silver’ Munich Jewellery Week- Solo Exhibition

Sept 20   -Beijing Design Week: Metal Narrative Exhibition – Dialogues of Design in Silver

Jun 20    -‘Open Up’ Hammer Club Exhibition at The Silver Museum, Schoonhoven,Netherlands

Nov19    -'Living Silver' Exhibition at Augustus Brandt, Newlands House, Petworth, West Sussex

Oct 19  - Research artefacts are featured in ‘Making form’ an eBook publication celebrating Contemporary British fine metalwork. (By Kenneth Quickenden BCU)

Oct 19  -Exhibition & Symposium Title: Making Connections ‘Notions of Beauty’ I was honoured to be invited to take make a significant contribution to the International Symposium and Exhibition funded by the New Dali Intangible Cultural  Heritage Station in Lijiang, Yunnan, China. My Artefacts were part of this exhibition for the inaugural opening of the BR Gallery.

2019  -European Silversmithing Symposium Hammer Club - V&A Design Museum in Dundee, Dock Street Studios, Dundee. The Goldsmiths' Centre, London www.goldsmiths-centre.org/whats-on 

Elements: A Festival of Jewellery, Silver & Gold, Lyon & Turnbull, Edinburgh     www.elementsfestival.co.uk/elements-festival-makers

2018  -NEXUS: Meetings at the Edge- Kirkcaldy Galleries, Scotland. Curated By Elizabeth Goring. This exhibition looks at some of the ways in which 21st-century artists and makers are changing preconceptions about their art forms. Touring Exhibition to Ruthin Craft Centre, Wales

2018  -Contemporary Applied Arts presents Colour Theory, a kaleidoscopic selection of exquisite decorative and functional hand-crafted objects.

2016/18  -Made in the Middle-National Touring Exhibition- 2016-2018 This exhibition launched at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum in Coventry on 3rd December 2016 and is touring for approximately eighteen months. The first East Midlands venue in the tour is The National Centre for Craft & Design in May 2017- Brewhouse Arts Centre 30th September 2017 - 25th November 2017-ending its tour at Rugby Museum & Art Gallery March 2018.Invited Artists- Contemporary craft from across the Midlands- Funding- The exhibition is supported by Arts Council England.

2017  - Bonham’s, Knightsbridge, London (Silver Speaks Exhibition Collection)

2016/17- A Winter’s Tale- Contemporary Applied Arts, London

2016/17- Silver Speaks Idea to Object Exhibition & Symposium- V&A Museum, London Silver Speaks: traces how a work in silver is brought into being from the inspiration, through sketches, models, material experimentation and construction processes, to the final piece. The selected designs in this free display at the V&A encompass a variety of beautiful and intriguing objects – both sculptural and functional – created using a range of different processes, from the traditional to the most cutting edge. I was one of 18 of Britain’s leading silversmiths have been selected by Corinne Julius who curated the exhibition.

2015   -Goldsmiths’ Company Festive Silver Exhibition, National Museum of Scotland,Edinburgh

2014   -Contemporary Silver Spoon Exhibition- Belton House, Grantham

2014   -Contemporary Silver Exhibition- Koldinghus Museum, Denmark

2014   -Christie's Auction House, London- Contemporary British Silversmiths Association Members Exhibition

2014   -Regenerated Exhibition-Museum of the Jewellery Quarter-Interventions within historic context/collections

2013  -Channel 4 ‘Four Rooms’- Art Dealer Program

2013  -Chelsea Art Fair Exhibition- Represented by John Higgins Silver

2012 -Goldsmiths’ Fair Exhibition- (30 year Anniversary), Goldsmiths’ Hall, London

2012  -Art in Action- Oxfordshire (CBS members exhibition)

2012  -V&A Museum Exhibition-Best of British Design

2012  -From the Table to the Wall Exhibition, Flow Gallery, London

2011 -Goldsmiths’ Fair Exhibition, Goldsmiths’Hall, London

2011 -Reverberation- Art of Bashing Metal- Bilston Craft Gallery.

2011 -Silverstruck Exhibition, National Museum Wales Cardiff.

2011 -Galvanise Interchanges Exhibition, Butchers Works, Sheffield.

2011  -Silverstruck Exhibition, Ruthin Craft Centre.

2011  -Romance of British Craft, CAA London.

2011 -SIDE X SIDE EDGE X EDGE-CBS Exhibition, Devon Guild.

2010  -Goldsmiths’ Fair Exhibition, Goldsmiths’ Hall, London

2010  -Design Festival Showcase, V&A Museum, London

2010  -A Living Space Exhibition, Contemporary Applied Arts, London.

2010  -RBSA Gallery Exhibition - 10year Anniversary, Birmingham.

2010  -Focus Exhibition, Contemporary Applied Arts London.

2009  -Goldsmiths’ Fair Exhibition- Goldsmiths’ Hal, London.

2009  -SIDE X SIDE EDGE X EDGE- Hame Castle, Hammenlinna, Finland.

2009 -British Silver Week, S.J Phillips, New Bond Street, London.

2009 -Silver with a Pinch of Salt, Goldsmiths’ Hall, London.

2009 -Bank Street Arts, Sheffield- Exhibition-In their own words.

2008 -Roger Billcliffe Gallery, Glasgow - Winter collection.

2008  -Goldsmiths’ Fair Exhibition - Goldsmith’s Hall, London.

2007 -Roger Billcliffe Gallery, Glasgow - Winter collection.

2007 -Arts Ornata Europeana - Thread of Silk Exhibition Manchester Royal Exchange.

2007 -Silver Exhibition- 25th Anniversary Craft Design Centre, Manchester.

2007 -Origin 07 – Crafts Council, Somerset House, London.

2007 -Pewter Live 07 Pewter’s Hall, Iron Mongers Hall, London.

2007 -Contemporary Craft s for Living - Bilston Craft Gallery.

2006 -Origin 06 – Crafts Council, Somerset House, London.

2006  -Patterns of Identity- Bilston Craft Gallery.

2004 -Technique – Royal College of Art, London.

2004  -The Metal Gallery – Mayfair, London.

2003  -Talente Exhibition –Munich.

2002 - Now and Then Silver Exhibition– V&A Millennium Galleries, Sheffield

2002/03 -Collide Exhibition- Joint Artist Commission with Birmingham City Council & Craftspace

2001  -Beyond Materials, Contemporary Silver Exhibition- Bangkok, Thailand.

2001/03-Chandrika Silver Commission- Preston, Bradford, Oldham, Blackpool, Rotherham.

2001/02 -13th Silver Triennial-Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus Hanau, Germany.

2000  -Silk Road Exhibition, Royal National Theatre, London.

2000  -Passing Out- Goldsmiths Hall, London.

2000  -New Designers Exhibition, London

98/00  -12th Silver Triennial-Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus Hanau, Germany

1998  -Millennium Canteen- Mappin & Webb, London

1998  -New Designers Exhibition, London

Research interests/expertise

Recreative Practice

Heritage Craft Skills & Emerging Technologies

Material Perception and Material Value

Boundaries of Function and context of Silver objects

Identity Theory

Areas of teaching

Design Thinking

Research for Design

Professional Practice

New Product Development

Qualifications

PGCHPE in Higher and Professional Education, 2009 Staffordshire University

MA 3D Design Jewellery, Silversmithing and Allied Materials, 1999-2000 University of Central England, School of Jewellery

BA (Hons) Jewellery & Silversmithing, 1994-1998 Sheffield Hallam University

91ÊÓÆµ taught

BA Hons Design Crafts & MA Design

Honours and awards

2024 – Best Practice-Based Research Award for the Hallaton Helmet Recreative Research Project.

2019 -Best Practice Based Researcher- 91ÊÓÆµ, Leicester

2014- Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy HEA Fellow 

2013- Freeman of the Goldsmiths' Company, 

2000  -1st Prize New Designers: Association of British Design Silversmiths Award

2000  -William Dudley Bursary Prize

1998  -1st Prize New Designers: The Goldsmiths’ Company Silversmithing Award

1997 -1st Prize, Pewter Live & Goldsmiths Award, Iron Mongers Hall, London

1997  -Lighting Association lighting Award, Sheffield

1996 -British Jewellers Association Prize for Design Innovation

1996  -University of Central England Rowlinson Prize

1995  -British Jewellers Association 1st Prize for overall work

Membership of professional associations and societies

Chairman of Contemporary British Silversmiths, 2020-2023

2005 - CBS Member ongoing (Committee member for Skills training in Higher Education)

Conference attendance

 

2024 -International Conference presentation at the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG): 51st Conference in San Diego State University in person. (SNAG support over 2,000 members in USA)

Tech Talk: Human-Computer Collaboration | SNAG (snagmetalsmith.org) Paper: Innovative Infusions: A design collaboration- A collaborative investigation stretching the boundaries of 3D Printing and metallization. Ostensibly the fusion of respective analogue and digital practices, the project raised more fundamental challenges of working together collaboratively and in partnership with industry. The vehicle for this study is the creation of a teapot. Through the collaborative exchange we forge a hybrid practice that embodies tradition yet embraces the new.

2021- International symposium presentation and Exhibition ‘Celebrating Silver’ with The Association of Contemporary British Silversmiths and The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths’ at 91ÊÓÆµ, Leicester

2019- International Exhibition & Symposium Title: Making Connections ‘Notions of Beauty’ at the New Dali Intangible Cultural Heritage Station in Lijiang, Yunnan, China. My research artefacts were part of this exhibition for the inaugural opening.

 

2019- Symposium presentation and Exhibition at the European Silversmithing Symposium organised by Hammerclub at V&A Design Museum, Dundee, Scotland.

2017- An invited symposium presentation and craft skills share with Malcolm Appleby, Scotland- Contemporary British Silversmiths in collaboration with Goldsmith Centre, London, UK

2014- International Symposium presentation and Exhibition at Koldinghus Museum, Denmark - Theme: Contemporary Issues in Silver.

2012 - An invited Panellist-In Conversation with Sir Christopher Frayling- Nourishing the debate of Craft- Made in the Middle Exhibition at the Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham UK

2011- An invited Speaker- Designer Maker West Midlands Seminar Title: Leading Through Making- Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham UK

2007- An Invited Speaker- Designing for industry abroad- Association of British Designer Silversmith Connect Conference. Aston University, Birmingham, UK

2006- Invited to Chair Expert Panel debate-Title: Pushing Boundaries Symposium, Staffordshire University & Craftspace UK

Key articles information

Short film by Dr Mary O'Neill -

Interview on East Midlands regional news. Filmed in 91ÊÓÆµcraft workshop- Aired on Thursday 28th March 24

Hidden History- Unearthing the Past- 13k Youtube Subscribers

History Enhanced- Unearthing Britain's Past: The Hallaton Helmet Discovery- Youtube 1.93 Subscribers (12k views 8th June 2024) 

Archaeological Services- Curator Helen Sharp from Leicestershire County Council Museums talks about the Helmet project at University of Leicester Archaeologist conference.  Youtube Channel -1.17k Subscribers 

Time team official News- Cover the project. 245k Youtube Subscribers (84K views 8th June 24) -

Smithsonian Magazine-

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Professional esteem indicators

2025      -Golden Moment Teapot Sculpture acquired by V&A Museum at Collect Art Fair, London

2024      -Best Practice Based Researcher- 91ÊÓÆµ, Leicester

2024      -Hallaton Helmet Recreation No.1: Harborough Museum & Art Gallery, Leicestershire

2024      -Hallaton Helmet Recreation No.2: Hallaton Museum, Leicestershire

2019      -Best Practice Based Researcher- 91ÊÓÆµ, Leicester

2017      -‘Ice Tea for One’ acquired by Kamm Teapot Foundation Collection- USA

2014      -Regenerated- Arts Council Project with Museum of the Jewellery Quarter. Create Interventions within Heritage sites.

2011      -Reverberation Bilston Museum Craft Gallery Commission- National Tender

2011        -National Museum of Wales- Cardiff Acquisition of Vintage Tea pot for the Contemporary Silver Collection

2010        -Designer Maker West Midlands, Appointment as mentor on the Future  Forward two Programme

2004      -Silver In Places of Worship – Royal College of Art, Arts Council of England  & Sandwell Council funded research Project- Tittle: Collide

2004      -Ice Teapot Acquired by Contemporary Arts Society Silver Collection for Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery