Brighton-based textile artist, Kate Jenkins – well known for her witty forays into knitting and crocheting depictions of food – brings her one-of-a-kind fish counter show, Fishy Business, to the London Design Festival at Soho’s Air Contemporary Gallery.
The artist spent months tirelessly knitting, crocheting, and stitching her knitted fish counter and oyster cart which was first presented in May as part of “The Vintage Supermarket” at Merchant & Found’s pop-up as part of London Craft Week. If you missed it then, this is your chance to grab a unique fishy treat.
Kate developed her love of knitting, embroidery and crochet from her mother and grandmother. Inspiration for her works comes from her travels around the world and the way food is presented, consumed and loved.
Artist Kate Jenkins at her studio in Brighton.
With a fashion background, a love of knitting, food and fun, and having studied fashion at the University of Brighton, Kate decided to start her own business 20 years ago. Her first solo show took place in London in 2008. She created an exhibition entitled Kate’s Cafe where she crocheted an entire greasy spoon, filled with fried breakfasts and plates of bangers and mash. Other solo exhibitions in places like Barcelona, Hong Kong, New York, Dublin and a highly acclaimed three-month show in Rijswijk Museum, Netherlands, brought her worldwide success and recognition. After the London Design Festival, her work will next be shown in December in New York, at Eerdman’s Gallery NYC. Visitors can expect a whole range of New York-inspired goods, including knitted bagels.
Clients include Chaos 69 x Chanel, Viking Cruises, Harper’s Bazaar, Prudential Insurance, Anthropologie and many private individuals – Jamie Oliver is a fan as are many global art collectors, who keep her book of commissions healthily fat. Kate already has another solo show scheduled at Air Contemporary Gallery in September 2025 and Yorkshire Sculpture Park has commissioned her for an installation in 2027.
At Kate Jenkins’s Fishy Business, visitors will find not only a full seafood counter but also small plates and delicate canapes.
At the opening of Fishy Business, the artist commented, “I was overwhelmed by the response to the Vintage Fish Counter during London Craft Week. Since then, we have been inundated with clients looking for bespoke artwork for their homes or commercial clients looking to make a statement. We have some very exciting launches in the pipeline. Each artwork is made with love, crafted by hand using cutting edge techniques and with sustainable yarn.”
At Fishy Business during London Design Festival, you can order directly from the counter either a range or individual pieces of hand-sequinned and knitted seafoods such as sea bream, anchovies, prawns squid in ink, embroidered oysters and mussels and much more…. and have it mounted on a choice of predesigned plate or platter cards – choose from a range including bone china and Le Creuset; each one signed and numbered, priced from £100. Customers can also buy new seafood-themed artworks at the exhibition which are framed and signed, starting at £5,000.
Grab yourself a fishy morsel!
Author: Linda Hunting
Kate Jenkins Fishy Business
Air Contemporary Gallery, 4 Ham Yard Soho, W1D 7DT
Open to the public from 20th September – 5th October
@kjcardigan
@aircontemporarygallery
Images courtesy of Byrne Communications @byrnecomms
Opening image: Kate Jenkins, Vintage Fish Counter. “The Vintage Supermarket” at Merchant & Found’s pop up, London Craft week 2024.
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