top of page

Gemma Holt completed a Masters in Design Products at the Royal College of Art. Before this she trained as an artist, gaining her undergraduate degree in Interactive Arts at Manchester Metropolitan University, an experimental multi-disciplinary programme based on the principles of the free school. Her work has been exhibited in the UK and internationally; she has participated in several residencies, developing her practice in the J.B. Blunk house in California and Cove Park, Scotland.

​

She works in a variety of materials, from paper to gold, creating objects that defy categorisation - each piece is conceived as both a work of art and of design, neither driven solely by function nor by aesthetics. Her methods combine craftsmanship with conceptual rigour, eliminating superfluous decoration and meaning. Every object is the expression of an idea, distilled into its most simple form.

​

The form, choice of materials and purpose of the objects are the result of a series of conceptual rather than aesthetic decisions - their beauty derives from the clarity of this logic. In one jewellery series she imposes deliberate, Fluxus-like limitations on the design process, as a section of gold wire dictates the shape of the bracelet it is used to create. Another piece suggests perfect equilibrium, as the hole of the ring occupies the same area as its semi-circular surround. There are recurrent themes of balance, simplicity and the divine - her eternity ring is an endless loop of gold that wraps symbolically around two fingers. pieces in their own right, she describes her work as sculpture in miniature - importantly, each object has a life of its own when not used.

bottom of page