Niamh Barry Knotted
Soraya Osorio Epic Chair
Erin Sullivan Bubble Table
Soraya Osorio, Ave Chaise Lounge, USA, 2015
Marc Fish, Laminaria, UK, 2015
Jan Yoors, Charcoal on Paper Drawings, USA, 1975
Jan Yoors, Charcoal on Paper Drawings, USA, 1975
Jan Yoors, Charcoal on Paper Drawings, USA, 1975
Jan Yoors, Charcoal on Paper Drawings, USA, 1975
Fort Mason Pavilion: January 13-17, 2016
By Anya Firestone | December 9, 2015
San Francisco, CAโTodd Merrill Studio is pleased to present an expansive exhibitionย at the central entrance of FOG: Design + Art in San Francisco. In the boothโs interior, theย gallery will unveil a new collection of unique, material-driven studio works made withย todayโs most refined and innovative techniques in sculpting and casting across metalย and wood. From bronze light installations to hand-carved walnut consoles, the works areย unified by their shared inspiration of the human body and its movement as subjectย matter. The gallery will also display historically inspired porcelain wall installations,ย including Beth Katlemanโs Folly, a twenty-foot long three-dimensional wallpaper on theย fairโs main entrance wall.
Previously exhibited at theย Museum of Art and Designย (New York), recipient of theย Moรซt-Hennessy Prize forย Best Decorative Objectย (PAD Paris, 2011), andย recently commissioned forย the House of Christian Diorย in Hong Kong and London,ย Folly debuts on the Westย Coast for the first time atย FOG. A contemporary riffย on toile de jouy wallpaper,ย Folly is hand-sculpted andย cast from flea-marketย trinkets and pop-cultureย toys. Borrowing theย decorative language of theย rococo, Folly evokes a world of gentile pleasure only to reveal a more subversiveย agenda. Complimenting its exhibition, Katleman will be giving a talk at FOG Theater,ย โImpolite Wallpaper: Design through an Artistโs Eyesโ, on Friday, January 15, 2016 atย 1PM. The seminar will discuss her repertoire and its relevance across museums, fashionย houses, private collections, and todayโs โgrey spaceโ between art and design.
Further paying homage to historic pattern while deconstructing it, the gallery will debutย Molly Hatchโs newest plate painting Paragon. Referencing 19th century patterns by Owenย Jones, Hatch has blown-up and abstracted design with paint and gold across 63 hand-thrown porcelain plates. ย Simultaneously representing movementย while stimulating our own, Niamh Barryโsย newest light sculpture, Walking, an 11-foot long, 7-foot tall standing screen, willย illuminate the booth. ย Following the artistโsย His series, consisting of angular,ย masculine forms, Walking is a sculptedย study of the traced steps of man,ย rendered in mirror-polished and patinatedย bronze, glass opal tiles, and powered byย dimmable LEDs. Complimenting thisย piece, the gallery will also debut herย newest sinuous work, Knoted II, aย tabletop light sculpture made in mirror-polished stainless steel.
Visually extending the boothโs masculineย and female shapes, the gallery will showย Soraya Osorioโs sleek metal furnitureย pieces that combine both sharp andย rounded forms in single works: Ave, aย solid brass chaise lounge, featuresย smoothย surfaces that unite toย formย severeย open angles, while its soft,ย scooped backย renders the chaise at idealย aesthetic equilibrium.
Osorioโsย Epic, aย majestic desk, will alsoย debut with its new complimentary Epicย Chair.ย Perfected in a semi-circle, Epic, isย composed of curves and lines thatย appearย differently from every angle,ย furthering the viewerโs motion around theย pieces. Observed from straight on, itsย blackened steel legs are broadย lustrousย planes; from a different vantageย point, they appear as thin sheets of metal,ย disappearing to millimeters and almostย invisible to the human eye.
Contrasting Osorioโs smooth metalย surfaces, the booth will present texturedย and tactile solid bronze cast works by Erinย Sullivan. Transforming the serpent into aย rotating objet dโart or an alligator into aย multi-layered three-footed stool sculpture,ย Sullivan creates hyper-interpretations ofย naturalistic surfaces and bodies. Herย sculptural shelves, stools, and tables areย made with the absolute highest qualityย and labor-intensive process of lost waxย casting techniques known today, offeringย incredibly realistic interpretations of organic subject matter.
In addition to porcelain and metal,ย Todd Merrill Studio will showcaseย new artistic achievements in woodย with exquisitely hand-carvedย consoles by Marc Fish and Marcusย Haase. Extending the boothโs themeย of human and organic forms, Fishโsย Laminaria console appears as aย crawling figure, revealing the artist’sย hand at work with an organic, yetย unparalleledย form. Createdย fromย nearly 400 pieces of American blackย walnut veneer, Laminariaย showcases the artistโs mastery of the most refined practices in micro stack-lamination,ย which implement no heat but only dry, cold carving techniques. Contrasting Fishโsย delicate work, Markus Haaseโs BANG is a dynamic, masculine cantilevered walnut andย marble console. Haaseโs newest light sculpture, an ash and onyx wall applique inspiredย by the female form, will also be displayed.
Further emphasizing works evocative of the body, the gallery will present a frieze ofย charcoal-on-paper drawings of a nude female by Jan Yoors along the entire exteriorย periphery of the booth. Reminiscent of his iconic tapestries, drawings feature bold darkย shapes and dynamic plays between negative space and shapes. Displayed tightlyย 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 atย the FelixArt museums in Belgium and are featured in the catalogue accompanying theย current exhibitionย Janย Yoors: A Retrospectiveย atย The Baker Museum in Naples. Similarย works reside across museums worldwide including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Theย Art Institute of Chicago, and the Museum of Art and Design.
On the occasion of FOG: Design + Art, new color catalogues on the work of Bethย Katleman, Niamh Barry, and Molly Hatch will all be released.
For more details please contact:
info@ToddMerrillStudio.com
Ms. Anya Firestone
Curator
Todd Merrill Studio
212 673 0531
Ms. Barbara L Dixon
Media Relations
barbara@barbaraldixon.com
212.933.1879ย |ย 646.709.1536
