TODD MERRILL STUDIO EXHIBITING CONTEMPORARY ART AND DESIGNย AT THE PALM BEACH JEWELRY, ART and ANTIQUES SHOW
February 15-21, 2017
Palm Beach, FLโTodd Merrill Studio is pleased to present an expansive exhibition at the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art and Antiques Show. In the boothโs interior, the gallery will unveil a new collection of unique, material-driven studio works made with todayโs most refined techniques in sculpting and casting across metal and wood. From bronze light installations to hand-carved walnut consoles, the works are unified by their innovative design.
Central to the booth’s focus will be a spectacular new monumental LED and bronze light sculpture by Irish artist Niamh Barry. This largeย suspended light sculpture, Black Poise, floats effortlessly in perfect harmony of material and form.ย The suspended, sinuous structures are inspired by human movement and displayed so as to be experienced from every angle.This 7`-foot long work incorporates interlocking black patinated bronze rings with three hand-raised bronze vessels. The interiors of the vessels are finished in polished copper and illuminated by a glow of hidden dimmable LED lights.ย As in Barryโs celebrated earlier works, Black Poise is a feat of handcrafted metal work, perfectly illuminating Barryโs mastery of balance and movement.
The gallery will exhibit Molly Hatchโs newest plate painting installation, Aria, based on an early 13th century Islamic plate from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum. Innovations in early Islamic luxury ceramics from this time include โminai wareโ which introduced polychrome enamel designs and gilding onto previously glazed and fired pottery. Composed of 37 painted porcelain plates installed in a geometric honeycomb pattern, each round surface serves as a canvas for the artistโs brush strokes; together, the plates reveal the intricate abstract floral motif of its source material. Its vibrant color and gold accents reference โminai wareโ while the composition of ceramic plates isย decidedly contemporary.
Recently, Hatchโs two monumental installations, Physic Garden and Caughley Landscape, were commissioned and installed in the High Museum of Artโs permanent collection (2015).
Visually extending the boothโs presentation of mixed materials, the gallery will show Soraya Osorioโs sleek steel and bronze furniture pieces that combine both sharp and rounded forms in monumental scale. Osorioโsย Epic Desk will debut with its new complimentary Epic Chair.ย Perfected in a semi-circle, the Epic Desk, is composed of curves and lines that appearย differently from every angle, furthering the viewerโs motion around the pieces. Observed from straight on, its blackened steel legs are broad lustrousย planes; from a different vantage point, they appear as thin sheets of metal, disappearing to millimeters and almost invisible to the human eye. Both the Epic Desk and Epic Chair distill the spirit of their surroundings, transforming complexity to simplicity, weight to fluidity, and color to radiance. Confident lines and curated hues are signature elements ofย Osorioโs mastery of metal work.
Contrasting Osorioโs smooth metal surfaces, the booth will present textured and tactile solid bronze cast works by Erin Sullivan. Sullivan presents a selection of new wall-mounted works cast in bronze (using the lost-wax technique) that again are intricately textured and tactile, drawing fromย organic, landscape, and undomesticated life forms.
Her pieces are defined by their intricately detailed surfaces, as well as by the versatility of those forms: Sun and Moon, an immense bronze relief contrasts turbulent, twisted forms cast from actual lava rock with gentle slopes and folds reminiscent of an undisturbed stretch of beach to present a metaphorical โsunโ rising over a โmoon.โ The entire sculpture with its ceremonial monumentality radiates a warm glow from embedded LEDโs, while a curtain of horsehair dramatically descends from the base of the bronze. Sullivanโs continuing repertoire offers a visual, elegant equilibrium between artifice and nature.
Like Osorio and Sullivan, Gary Magakis has a commitment to small production that allows his work to fully represent his personal ideals of nature inspired design. The bold and dense geometric forms of Magakisโ latest works exude elegant, buoyant elements of Modernism while drawing inspiration from his surrounding landscape.
Magakis channels architectural elements in design while tapering each of his forms uniquely. The twoย Stacked Low Tables as well as the Steel and Bronze Cantilevered Consoleย project a pleasing weight and gravity.ย Like large, flat, river stones, the forms that make up the level planes casually reference the centuries old stonewalls that populate Magakisโ rural surroundings in Pennsylvania. The density of the silhouettes is juxtaposed with a cantilevered weightlessness giving the tables and console a sense of playfulness while retaining a muscular visual power.ย Though the individual sectionsย appear sharp at first glance, they are actually gracefully curvilinear.
In addition to the magnificent bronze and steel pieces on view Todd Merrill Studio will showcase new artisitc acheivements in wood with exquisitely hand-carved consoles by Marc Fish. Fish is constantly striving to transcend the barriers of art, design, sculpture and furniture. His sublimely unique works possess a timelessness that could be found seamlessly in the most contemporary of settings to the most traditional.
The One Piece Console is the thirdย bronze and oak work created in the artistโs uniqueย One Pieceย series,ย wherein the artistย explores the positive and negative space that aย single piece of wood can occupy. Evocative of human forms, the console showcases Fishโs incredible mastery of the most refined practices in micro stack-lamination. The table is made from nearly 100 pieces of oak timber, manipulated into shape, hand-carved, and then sanded until smooth. Alongside the oak, resin, bronze, and squid ink dye are used to create the exquisite textures and colors that follow the consoleโs curves. ย At once unique sculpture and functional console with a 16โณ deep shelf, the sinuous and delicate object reveals the artistโs hand at work, while exuding a seemingly organic, unprecedentedย form.
Also on view will be a recent painting from New York born and based contemporary artist Ezra Cohen. Cohen is a known for his large, powerful abstract paintings. At the age of 16, Cohen began studying under noted Abstract Expressionist artist Knox Martin at the Art Students League of New York. His lasting association with Martin has uniquely informed Cohenโs approach to color and composition. Cohen strikes a masterful balance between chaos and control, frequently referencing the golden ratio. Cohenโs paintings have been exhibited in numerous New York art shows and are represented in over 30 collections across the United States and Europe.
The gallery will present a frieze of charcoal-on-paper drawings of a nude female by Jan Yoors. Reminiscent of his iconic tapestries, the drawings feature bold dark shapes and dynamic plays between negative space and shapes. Displayed tightly together, the lines from one carry into the next, creating new forms across the wall. Works from Yoorsโ charcoal series were recently exhibited at the artistโs retrospective at the FeliXart Museum in Belgium and are featured in the catalogue accompanying the current exhibitionย Janย Yoors: A Retrospectiveย atย The Baker Museum in Naples. Similar works reside across museums worldwide including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, and the Museum of Art and Design.
In a recent series of works from 2010 Knox Martinโs bold use of black and white evokes de Kooningโs iconic black and white paintings. Martinโs works, whose titles allude to the female form, are integrated with highlights of pop colors underscoring their inherent vigorous spirit. New York painter Knox Martin is widely recognized for his lively, vibrant paintings that employ a distinct visual vocabulary of signs and symbols, often referencing nature and more specifically, the female form. With their large simplistic shapes, brilliant flatly painted colors, and complex structure, Knoxโs works are immediately recognizable for their free execution and pop sensibility. With a career spanning over 8 decades, Martin has secured his legacy in the canon of important American artists.
Also on view are two pieces, c.1980, from a rare body of work similar in style to Martinโs archetypal abstract murals. Juxtaposing the multi-dimensionality of his handmade molded paper with a playful composition and palate, these pieces are unique examples of the artistโs bravado and ingenuity.
Through an exploration of diverse materials and innovative technique, Todd Merrill Studio continues to celebrate the best of studio driven artists bridging the gap between art and design and traditional techniques and modern innovation.
