Adi Toch was born to Jewish parents in Jerusalem, Israel, in 1979. She received a BA in Israel but immigrated to London, England in 2007 to further her education in the arts. Toch is established as a metalsmith artist and lecturer at the Royal College of Art (RCA), London.
Metalsmith and lecturer, Adi Toch was born to Jewish parents in Jerusalem, Israel, in 1979. She began working with metal at 14, when she was apprenticed with a jeweller over the summer holidays. Toch subsequently studied metalwork at the Bezalel Academy of Arts in Jerusalem and received her BA (Hons) in 2004. However, feeling artistically constrained by the bodily focus of jewellery, she shifted her attention to crafting larger metal pieces. In 2007, she immigrated to London, England, and enrolled in an MA (Hons) by Project at The Cass, London Metropolitan University. Initially, she planned on staying in England just to finish her studies, but then settled permanently.
Toch's art practice focuses on the physical attributes of everyday items, with vessels and containers being primary forms within her oeuvre. These objects, integral to human history and culture since ancient times, serve not just practical purposes, such as storage and ritual use, but also embody narratives of containment and transition. Through these metal objects, Toch explores the dichotomy of the inner and outer realms. Starting with flat sheets, she shapes and constructs metal into fine, hollow forms. Her methodology combines traditional silversmithing with innovative techniques, particularly in surface treatment. Her unique style emerges from detailed surface textures and the use of patina. Toch manipulates her vessels' interiors to evoke varied sensory experiences. She alternates between creating highly polished, reflective surfaces and incorporating gemstones that can roll and generate sound. She leverages the unique properties of metal – its ability to conduct, resonate, and reflect – to craft works that engage and playfully challenge the viewer's perceptions.
Toch has exhibited widely in the UK and internationally. Toch was part of a group exhibition The Silversmith’s Art: Made in Britain Today, which opened in 2015 at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. This exhibition featured over 150 pieces from 66 artisans (of which 33 were women) from the Contemporary Silver Collection of the Goldsmiths’ Company and highlighted the heritage, techniques, inspiration, and evolving design styles in British silver, while emphasising the pivotal role of women in this traditionally male-dominated field. In 2018, she was part of a major European craft exhibition held in Venice, Italy, under the title Homo Faber. In 2021, the V&A’s Gilbert Collection unveiled Toch's commissioned piece Place to Place, made in response to the return of a 4,250-year-old gold ewer from the V&A to Turkey. Discovered to be acquired illegally, the ewer was donated to Ankara's Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. Toch's work contemplates this restitution, using a funnel as the central motif to symbolise both the ewer's journey and its story of lost direction and return, as well as the new void in the collection. The funnel represents a connector, symbolising transition and generosity, and aligning with the ewer's story of repatriation. The shiny inner surface invites the viewer to look inside and consider their own reflection and journey. The piece was accompanied by an eponymous publication. Also in 2021, she participated in a Crafts Council group exhibition Maker’s Eye: Stories of Craft. This inaugural exhibition at the new Crafts Council Gallery, showed over 150 UK-made craft objects spanning the past half-century. Maker’s Eye, especially relevant during a pandemic year that saw a surge in craft interest, offered a kaleidoscope of perspectives on the significance of craft. In the same year Toch also participated in On the Table. Held at the Oxford Ceramics Gallery, which transformed its upper gallery into a domestic setting, the group exhibition showcased practical yet stylish ceramics and metalwork.
In addition to her art practice, Toch teaches metalwork. From 2013 to 2019 she was a lecturer at London Metropolitan University and a Teaching Fellow (2018-9) at Edinburgh College of Art. Since 2012, she has been a Visiting Lecturer at her alma mater, the Bezalel Academy of Arts and, from 2019, also a Lecturer at the Royal College of Art. Toch also began garnering recognition in the field of applied arts in 2013 when she was awarded the P&O Makower Trust Silver Commission for the National Museum Wales. That same year, she also received the Goldsmiths' Craft & Design Gold Award. In 2015, Toch was shortlisted for the Schoonhoven International Silver Award. In 2017, she was a finalist for the Loewe Craft Prize and also won the Wallpaper* Magazine Design Award. In 2018, Toch achieved further recognition, receiving the Goldsmiths' Craft & Design Award and the European Prize for Applied Arts Master Prize. Adi Toch lives and works in London, where she is represented by the Sarah Myerscough Gallery. In the UK public domain, her work is held in numerous collections, including Birmingham Museum, Crafts Council Collection, Fitzwilliam Museum, Goldsmiths’ Company, Museum of London, National Museums Scotland, National Museum of Wales, Ulster Museum Belfast, and the V&A.