David Huycke - Re-Thinking Granulation

David Huycke (1967, Sint-Niklaas) is the most important contemporary silver artist in Flanders and one of the leading names in Europe. His latest work, which breathes new life into the technique of granulation, is now on display at Z33.

Granulation is a decorative technique in which many small metal balls or granules – sometimes tens of thousands of them – are fused to a metal base. The technique has been around since 3000 BC and, having been perfected by the Etruscans between 600 and 480 BC, it has evolved little since.

For Huycke, this meant that resurrecting the technique after more than 2500 years of dormancy represented an enormous challenge. Yet he succeeded, and with genuine fervour. Huycke discovered a method of constructing objects completely from the tiny silver balls. What’s more, he found the process so inspiring that he created a whole series of new objects inspired by this technique.