Soho Records
Ian Berry was interviewed by Jo Good on BBC Radio London on New Years Eve at Broadcasting House in London. They were speaking about his new exhibition at the Smallest Gallery in Soho on Dean Street as well as what happened in the last year and whats upcoming this year.
Have a listen here starting around 1:55
2018 has been a busy year for Ian Berry and Tonello. And by working together it has shown that Tonello is a lot more than ‘just making machines’.
Always focusing on the customers needs, both post and after sales with ideas and practical solutions, Ian has been impressed with the what he has seen at Tonello each time he has been there with clients from around the world flying in to see what they can learn. Tonello has the ‘Creative Area’ where they can really demonstate what their machines can do, and for Ian it is much more than the Laser Blade as its that combined with the washing that has really brought his work to life.
Working closely with Alice Tonello and her skilled staff, from the R&D and marketing teams Ian has forged a strong bond with this family run Italian company and has enjoyed several trips to the northern Italian HQ this past couple of years. It has been great for him to use the tools that the industry are now using and with the company that has sustainability at its forefront.
‘Without Tonello, a lot of the installations this year would never have been able to be realised’ Ian Berry
Ian is often spoken of a sustainable, upcycling and eco artist and Tonello has technologies that respect the environment, that consume less energy, few additives, and indeed little of everything. Everything they do has the environment in mind. And its not only the environment outside, but that of the workers using the machines and also the end user, the people buying a pair of jeans.
Today, putting on a pair of jeans treated using Tonello technology means respecting oneself and one’s own health.
Ian Berry at Tonello
And it is thanks to their peoples commitment that they are known around the world as the top partner of great fashion brands, as the link between designers and companies involved in washing, dyeing and garment finishing and that has been seen on many of the trips to Italy Ian has been on where he has met many of the big names in denim, under the Tonello roof in Sarcedo, in the Province of Vicenza.
The word ‘sustainability’ for us is an ethical imperative that allows for no compromise. If it did not, we would just be machine manufacturers.
Ian Berry’s Installation in Kentucky that was made with some use of the Tonello Lazer Blade and Creative Room in Italy
Tonello has evolved over the years since 1981 having sold 7000 machines, becoming a modern, technologically advanced company that has offered the market reliable, truly ground-breaking products in garment finishing machines are known over the world for the quality of their all-Italian manufacture and top-level performance.
All this knowledge and expertise they were able to share with Ian but also to challenge the staff and their machines to push boundaries to make not garments, and not just art, but large installations. Already their collaborative efforts have been shown in New York, the South of France, Kentucky, Miami and now in London at the Soho Records installation and soon to see in San Fran, the largest install yet that will combine the flowers and this historic denim city in a public piece of art in a soon to be revealed central San Francisco location.
From lasered plants and vines, both cut and ‘etched’ to bricks and tees, to signs and washed textures, and this is only the beginning.
While most of the albums were totally hand made, some of the ones for the background were lasered in Italy with Tonello using the Laser Blade then using special washing techniques.
In Tarn, in the South of France - An installation breaks through an old factory like nature reclaiming the space.
It’s a year since the installation ‘Secret Garden’ went up in New York at the Children’s Museum of New York, which was the first time Ian Berry and Tonello had worked together on an installation - what a year it has been since.
Today Tonello is the international benchmark for the garment-processing industry and by working with an artist that shows around the world in galleries, museums, and art fairs together they are creating something really special. Ian looks forward to see tonello carry on progressing on making sustainable ways for the denim and garment industry and to further combine to make groundbreaking art installations that can inspire many people around the world.
photo by Opal Turner
62 Dean Street | Soho | London | W1D 4QF
on until Jan 20
You can now see Ian Berry’s exhibition 24 hours a day in London’s Soho. On view at the Smallest Gallery in Soho, a curated space in the heart of London and made to be viewed from the window. You’ll see albums, tees and jackets and even a denim vinyl player but as fun as the show may be, it’s also a comment on the declining high street.
While the location in Soho is perfect as its famed for the music industry, as well as many famous record stores - many only in memory now. He also gives a nod to the connection to the music industry and denim.
Photo by Sadia Rafique
The Smallest Gallery in Soho presents ‘Soho Records’ by Ian Berry who is known for his works made just out of denim. Berry has turned the gallery into a unique vintage record store in a response to the ever-changing high street. Look closely and you’ll see at the heart of it is an acute observation of ‘communities’ and how they have changed. Where now we would meet for coffee, many in the past from the music community and like minded people would meet at a record store.
The space is filled with record covers, tee shirts, records and framed albums. Many have a connection to Soho and the story of denim. Music and denim have gone together through time. With acts and genres ranging from Elvis to heavy metal, Bob Dylan and punk, the pioneers of youth music have worn jeans. Many famous album covers of all time feature this artisan fabric.
Last year, 4.1 million vinyl records were sold in the UK, almost 1 million more than 2016, and a 12-fold increase on the levels seen in 2011. Fashion and music have always been inherently entwined together in society. Gone are the days of Virgin Megastore, HMV, Our Price, Woolworths and Tower Records where you would see such musical covers projected onto our streets. Yet it is an ode to the constant underground that music is always around and reinventing itself, as well as our lives.
To see more images
photo by Sadia Rafique
About The Smallest Gallery in Soho
The Smallest Gallery in Soho is a historic shop-front which faces onto Dean Street, in the heart of Soho. The aim of this intimate gallery is to display artwork that captures people’s attention on their journey through Soho and encourage them to stop, think and be inspired. It hopes to transcend the rapid changes of building developments and the dispersion of the creative cohort — that was once so vibrant within the area — by exhibiting free and engaging art works to view from the street.
The space was established by The Garage Soho, an early stage investor company that champions brand building and creativity.
Manager:
Moira Rizopoulos (@moirarizo)
moira@thegaragesoho.london
Curators:
Philip Levine (@philiplevine)
gallery@thegaragesoho.london
Andreia Costa (@a_m_da_costa)
gallery@thegaragesoho.london
Lighting Design @Syntaxlighting
Venue @thegaragesoho
Supporters @cocolightingltd @conedenim @tonelloslr & ArchitectualFX
