POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Fink water jug by Robert Foster

Object No. 2019/19/1

The Fink Water Jug is an icon of Australian design. Designed by Robert Foster, it was released on the market in 1994 as the vanguard for Foster's then new design company Fink & Co. It was originally commissioned and made in 1993 in a limited edition for the opening of the 'Republic Restaurant' in Canberra. After its design was refined and its manufacturing streamlined, from 1994 the jug was produced in large numbers in several colours in Foster's workshop in Queanbeyan, New South Wales. Fink & Co supplied jugs for several high-end hotels, restaurants and museum shops including the Museum of Modern Art in New York. More recently and with Foster's close involvement, his signature jug has been manufactured in China. This example in ice-pink colour however was crafted in Queanbeyan. It represents one of three colours developed by Foster in the 'Satin Ice Range' and made in a limited edition in 2016. These three colours: ice-pink, lavender and champagne, all in the satin finish, were the last to be introduced by Foster whose profoundly creative life was tragically cut short in July that year. Robert Foster was born in 1962 in Kyneton, Victoria. He studied gold and silversmithing at the Canberra School of Art between 1981 and 1985. He was a talented designer-maker of handmade metal vessels including teapots and coffee pots, water jugs and beakers, vases, dishes and bowls. He also designed jewellery, furniture, lighting and household products. Foster ceaselessly experimented with both form and materials in order to create objects that were functional but also visually exciting, a pleasure to use and distinctive. He worked primarily with aluminium, titanium and stainless steel, and combined these with other materials including plastics, stone, ceramics and glass. Unmistakably 'Fink' in the perfect fusion of their gently curving yet strong shapes and bold colours, his vessels are sculptural and contemporary. The development of metallic pastel shades for the 'Satin Ice Range' jugs was a recent innovation by Foster, one of Australia's most respected and influential designers. His works can be found in major public collections in Australia and overseas. Eva Czernis-Ryl, Curator, 2017