K O N J U N T O gives the name to the work developed and created by partners, David Barnes and Esther Harris.
Through their joint creative practice; their individual training and professional experiences bring two unconnected worlds together in a combination which explores the relationships between art / design / industry / craft and environment.
David Barnes has always been fascinated by geometry, pattern and mathematics, and these form the basis of his artistic exploration.
At Cardiff Art College he created installations with handmade nets and geometric solids. After his degree show he had solo exhibitions in Belfast. In the years that followed he continued to make and show new work in galleries, combining this with travel and teaching.
His passion for Islamic design was sparked by a trip to Morocco, which prompted him to relocate to London to pursue a master's degree in Islamic art at The Prince's School of Traditional Art. He was able to develop new designs and geometries by gaining a thorough understanding of how geometric patterns are made with a compass and ruler.
Over the next three years he helped plan and conduct a series of four workshops for young Nigerian artists, craftsmen and women from the Kano region. Working with Kano Polytechnic on a series of exhibitions culminating in a major group show at Terra Kulture Gallery in Lagos. Further outreach work included projects in Saudi Arabia and Lancashire, UK.
David’s subsequent art practice has included many techniques; such as collage, the use of layered mesh as well as geometric paintings. The collages are about making negative spaces to create depth and see what’s behind each layer. The use of layers of mesh was a move to translucent fabrics and a way of using this material in an innovative way. The geometric paintings look closely at how colour and pattern combine to create different feelings and moods.
Examples of these can be seen on https://www.saatchiart.com/en-pt/davidjbarnes
Working with Esther in K O N J U N T O helps to bring all these elements together, allowing the ideas to work on a large scale, combining geometry, negative spaces, tactile materials and colour.
As a child, Esther grew up in a menswear tailoring family in a seaside town in the north of England. She would spend many a Saturday afternoon and the holidays in her fathers' alterations workroom. Surrounded by offcuts of material, she learned to sew and would fashion these small scraps into tiny versions of the clothing her father made. Perhaps this was her initiation into upcycling materials...?
After graduating in History of Art in Cambridge, Esther met David and together they decided to work and travel; and for the next five years they both taught English and travelled to Poland, Portugal, Morocco and India.
When they returned to England, inspired by the colourful leather babouches she had seen in Morocco, Esther seized upon the opportunity to re-train as a Shoemaker in Northamptonshire, the centre of fine quality men's footwear manufacturing in the UK. This was a pivotal moment and initiated her affinity for working with leather.
She then spent time as an apprentice and worked with some of the finest bespoke shoemakers in London. Always curious, she later became interested in mass manufacturing and began her career working in the footwear industry.
After two decades and having enjoyed the opportunities to work in varied roles across many different types footwear and in factories small and large in Asia and Europe, the need to return to a more creative, considered and sustainable approach in life, led her to think about how best to use her skills and make use of the leather she had collected and by extension, all the excess materials which she had seen thrown away for so long...
Through developing K O N J U N T O with David, Esther has rediscovered and renewed her love of innovation, creativity, materials and colour and is very happy to have alighted upon a satisfying way of creating beauty through left over leather.
Together, with a deep knowledge and appreciation of their raw materials, and an eye for balancing different visual elements, David and Esther delve into an often unpredictable selection of leather with various finishes, irregularities, weights and colours.
Transforming these leftovers and excess stock into distinctive and varied art and design wall hangings. Artworks whose aesthetic is not strictly pre-determined, whose story is one of construction, adaptation and renewal.
K O N J U N T O invite you to join them on a journey that honors the past and shapes a more sustainable and interconnected future.
all rights reserved© KONJUNTO 2026
Porto 4200-040, Portugal
connect@konjunto.com
Mon - Fri 09.00-18-00 (by prior appointment)
Konjunto Studio
website last updated 15-06-26
