Best In Show 2007 is Objectspace's third annual exhibition of recent graduates work from New Zealand tertiary institutions. The emerging makers we have chosen this year span the varied terrain of jewellery, furniture, ceramics and installation art. Best In Show utilizes a selection criteria centered around an ambition to uncover a range of new and emerging practitioners from around the nation. Objectspace is an ideal platform from which to introduce these makers to a public audience and the wider creative community.

The short space of time since Best In Show was inaugurated has coincided with an expansive period for the Australasian applied arts and design sectors. From public museums broadening their activities and collections to the nation-wide proliferation of design outlets and new art galleries, object related creative practices such as jewellery, furniture and ceramics are often subject to this renewed attention. Art and Design schools have likewise been through a period of expansion. In this light it is very interesting to observe the makers and trends emerging from the variety of design and object related programmes currently available.

For Best In Show 2007 we are very pleased to present twelve recently graduated makers whose work displays a sophisticated and successful level of conceptual resolve and visual impact. The makers in this year's exhibition share an approach to making which could be described in terms of pathognomy, the study of passions and emotions. These makers all display a highly contextual and personal understanding of everyday objects, investigating various aspects of adornment, value and beauty. This is a recent approach perhaps signaling a shift away from slick production values to the consideration of the social value latent within individual objects.

The Best In Show format has proven to be a valuable exhibition and promotional opportunity for all of the involved makers to date. Many of the participants in the previous exhibitions have moved on to receive considerable attention and media focus in their subsequent activities.

Objectspace would like to congratulate and thank all of the makers for their involvement and commitment to Best In Show. We wish you all the very best in your future careers and endeavours. We would also like to acknowledge the support and assistance of all of the institutions and their representatives, without whom Best In Show would never have been possible. A catalogue publication for Best In Show 2007 is available from Objectspace and online.

Makers:

Kate Barton, Rachel Bell, Jasmine Clark, Ann Crane, Yu-Chieh Hwang, Jenny Lam, Genie Lee, Yoo Na Lee, Katsuhiro Naguchi, David Pender, Nadine Puetz, Anne-Mieke Ytsma