Since 1843: NTU 170 Years Exhibition

Jon Burgerman
Regular LeftLion readers will be more than familiar with the work of this Brooklyn-based doodler as he’s illustrated a cover and been interviewed by us this year. He graduated in fine art in 2001 and has since gone on to create myriad colourful characters, collaborate on films like The Great Hip-Hop Hoax and design levels for Sony’s WipeOut. Oh, and he plays ukulele in his band, Anxieteam.
Jon Burgerman website

Alexander Taylor
Furniture need not be purely functional, and if anyone takes that and runs with it, it’s Alexander Taylor. With a background in furniture and lighting, The Museum of Modern Art in New York nabbed his ‘fold’ lamp for their permanent collection. Stepping outside of the home, he’s been working with Adidas on their primeknit project since 2009, helping with the designs and concepts for a unique single piece upper, revolutionising the manufacture of sports shoes.
Alexander Taylor website

Rob Ryan
A master with a scalpel, this guy can, with an intricate series of cuts turn the plainest piece of paper into a heartstring tugging, intricate artwork. His whimsical designs have been printed on everything from cards to plates, he’s written, and illustrated three books, collaborated with fellow Nottinghamian Paul Smith, Liberty’s of London, jewellery designer Tatty Devine and Vogue.
Rob Ryan website

Jonathan Glazer
The bulk of Glazer’s work has been in advertising; he was the man behind the iconic Guinness adverts with the white horses surfing and the old men’s swimming race. He did the HD paint explosions in the high rise flats for Sony Bravia. Music videos under his belt include promos for Radiohead, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Massive Attack and that brain-melting Jamiroquai one with the sliding floors. Glazer directed 2000’s Sexy Beast and his latest film Under The Skin, starring Scarlett Johansson, is due for release in 2014.

Sarah Price
Not afraid of getting her hands a bit mucky, a fine art graduate who’s taken landscape gardening to new levels. One of her more recent projects was as co-designer of the gardens at the Olympic Park, she’s central to the team who are planning the post-Games design and maintenance. Other designs by her have been included in The Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester and a countryside palazzo in Umbria. Her work has emphasis on shaping each space according to its surroundings.
Sarah Price website

Lucy Orta
Graduating with an honours degree in fashion knitwear design in 1989, she and her partner Jorge Orta founded Studio Orta together in 1993. Her sculptural work investigates the boundaries between the body and architecture, exploring their common social factors, such as communication and identity. She uses the media of drawing, sculpture, performance, video and photography.
Lucy Orta website

Simon Starling
A conceptual artist who graduated in photography in 1990, he killed it at the 2005 Turner Prize with his piece Shedboatshed. No ordinary piece of art, he managed to successfully take a wooden shed, turn it into a boat, sail it down the Rhine and then turn it back into a shed again. That’s what you might define as ambitious. His latest work Phantom Ride premiered at the Tate Britain earlier this year.

Motohiro Tanji
One of NTU’s more recent graduates, Japanese-born fashion designer studied an MA in fashion knitwear in the class of 2010, before promptly going off to set up his own fashion label. Although handmade, these aren’t the kinds of pieces your nan knocks out while watching old re-runs of Countdown. His knitwear mixes up styles and ranges from commercial textures to unique materials and techniques. He has a big, warm future ahead of him.
Motohiro Tanji website

Tim Noble and Sue Webster
This collaborative duo first met at Trent on a fine art course, and have produced a pretty impressive portfolio of work together since graduation in 1989. Their sculptures are made from ordinary objects, including rubbish, but have lights projected behind to create shadows that look like something else completely. Their work also includes pieces made from neon lighting, to impressive effect. They both received Honorary Doctorates from NTU in 2009.
Tim Noble and Sue Webster website

Paul Kaye
A bit of a smarty pants; After getting a first in theatre design he worked as an illustrator, graphic designer and scene painter before making his telly debut on The Word in 1994. Gaining notoriety for being the insulting red-headed American celebrity interviewer, the actor and comedian formerly known as Dennis Pennis, who also starred in Two Thousand Acres of Sky and It’s All Gone Pete Tong, is currently going through something of a career renaissance, following a role as Thoros of Myr in HBO’s Game of Thrones.

Wolfgang Buttress
An award-winning artist, this guy still lives and works in Nottingham and creates contextual artworks in public spaces. Those lovely metal trees and decorations on Lace Market Square are the products of his hard work and further afield, he was responsible for installing 4,000 glass bulb flowers in Highwood cemetery. Preferring to work in large scale, his pieces watch over major cities in the UK, Europe, Australia, USA, and Japan.
Wolfgang Buttress website

Since 1843 Exhibition at Bonington Gallery runs from Wednesday 8 January to Friday 7 February, Bonington Gallery, Nottingham Trent University, NG1 4GG.