Robert Foster 1962-2016
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Robert Foster's generosity and commitment to Australian design are what the head of ANU's gold and silversmithing workshop remembers most about his former mentor.
A legend in both national and international design worlds, Mr Foster died in a car accident on the Kings Highway on Wednesday.
Rohan Nicol was a first year art student at ANU when he met Mr Foster at the uni bar over pool and a schooner in 1991.
Mr Foster's studio was across the road from his alma mater, and it wasn't long until the new student was invited to the single-car garage where Mr Foster worked with only "a stump and a dozen hammers".
Later, Mr Foster approached Dr Nicol, to incorporate one of his designs as a F!nk and Co product. The Fink Bracelet went on to be produced for two decades.
Mr Foster was generous with his time, advice, space and tools, Dr Nicol recalled. One time the designer got up at 1am and opened his studio so Dr Nicol could urgently repair one of his works.
But it was Mr Foster's dedication to Australian design, and turning ideas into items,that the younger metalsmith said was most influential.
"You might have an idea, but in order to make it commercially viable or even 'manufacturable' – he was able to reconcile creative ideas with production processes, and it was very much that kind of thinking that he exposed me to," Dr Nicol said.
His contribution to his business has been not just about it being a business venture, but also being a cultural venture, he added.
"When other Australian designers of his generation were going overseas to markets and established brands ... he set about building his own brand and manufacturing capacities for the Australian market, and often spoke of his commitment to that ambition.
"[He had] capacity to create not only financial value but cultural and built values, that are part of the cultural fabric of our society as well."
That commitment to Australian design was evident in his numerous collaborations with other Australians artists. Perhaps most famous for the Fink water jug, Mr Foster also collaborated on other iconic pieces, including a candelabra with long-time assistant and designer Sean Booth, and a citrus squeezer with Elizabeth Kelly.
Tributes for Mr Foster continued to come in on Thursday, from Canberra and Australia's arts institutions and his contemporaries.
The National Gallery of Australia said Mr Foster's "craftsmanship, innovation and sense of aesthetics" made him one of Australia's leading contemporary designers and makers.
It said his works were held by all of the major institutions in Australia, including the gallery, which has an extensive collection of his work.
"He was a great friend of the NGA and our thoughts are with his family and all those who were fortunate to know and love him."
Curator at the Canberra Museum and Gallery, Deborah Clark, in a post on Facebook called him "a model of innovation, collaboration and creative inspiration".
