Ingrid Donat / Juan and Paloma Garrido / Hervé Wahlen "Heavy Metal"
Barry Friedman Ltd.
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Barry Friedman Ltd. presents “Heavy Metal,” three concurrent solo exhibitions of new works by contemporary French furniture designer Ingrid Donat, Spanish silversmiths Juan and Paloma Garrido and French metal sculptor Hervé Wahlen. Each artist takes a contemporary approach to traditional media and works outside of anticipated forms and constructions.
Contemporary French furniture designer Ingrid Donat was born in Paris in 1957. Having studied sculpture at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Donat’s work clearly reflects her background as a sculptor. While originally deriving inspiration from the elegance of Art Deco and the tonality of primitive tribal art, her new richly textured cast- bronze, aluminum, and concrete furniture embodies clean, bold lines, and geometric forms, while maintaining a fascination with texture and tactility. Drawing from a mix of structural influences, Donat maintains her own distinctive language of surface detail. “I draw inspiration from the everyday,” she states. “This can be naturalistic, mechanistic, industrial, or cultural. I am inspired by specific surfaces: reptile skin, Samurai armor, tattoos, etc.” Donat’s new pieces show an evolution for her as a designer, as she has begun working in the increasingly popular material of polished concrete. Her works have become modernist and linear, retaining beautifully textured surfaces, as well as geometrically complex spatial arrangements. Commode aux 7 engrenages, is a classic example of Donat’s contemporary limited edition furniture. A deeply textured dark bronze exterior contrasts to the smooth and golden drawer interiors. Opening the top drawer engages a vertical line of gears on either side of the Commode recalling the complex inner workings of a vintage timepiece.
Also on view are works by Spanish silversmiths, Juan and Paloma Garrido, son and daughter of the late noted Spanish silversmith, Damián Garrido (1931-2002). Trained in their father’s atelier for 15 years, this duo creates sleek and modern industrial designs, made of straight angular corners and curvaceous edges. Like architectural models, many works appear asymmetrical and dimensional, reflecting both their own edges and the surrounding world. The duo maintains an allegiance to traditional silver working techniques, while adopting a contemporary interpretation of silver candelabras, centerpieces, tea services, and nickel-plated furniture. Abstracted forms and highly polished surfaces are hypnotizing in their modern elegance. New works like Table Block, made of nickel-plated silver demonstrate the pair’s modernist tendencies and progression towards larger scale functional forms. Like oversized puzzle pieces, two angular and geometric tables fit perfectly into one another creating a dizzying unification of fragmentation and form.
Lastly, on view will be a collection of works by the French artist Hervé Wahlen. A self-taught sculptor, he is a master of the rare art of dinanderie, or the manual shaping and decorative processes of copper metal sheeting. His technique of shaping, hand-hammering, soldering, welding, cutting, and patination, results in organically shaped objects that are sensuous, enigmatic, and skillfully balanced. Smooth exterior surfaces in deep, rich patinas are juxtaposed with highly textured interiors of gold leaf that appear to glow from within. Most of the pieces have a seemingly precarious stance; an illusion created by Wahlen’s careful use of metal ball bearings to provide weighted counterbalance. The viewer is encouraged to manipulate and handle the works, finding their secret compartments, doors, and lids, and creating a sense of discovery and mystery. Pieces like Trans, not only display rich surface patina and delicate positioning, but opens to reveal a glowing inner core and stackable and removable parts. Each interior part has its own unique shape and surface aesthetic. They can be lifted out and removed from the sculpture, allowing the viewer to participate in how the piece is displayed, and interact with the arrangement of their environment.
[Image: Juan and Paloma Garrido "Table Block" (2009) Silver plated nickel 23 5/8 x 25 1/4 x 18 1/4 in. - each element]
Media
Schedule
from September 15, 2011 to October 29, 2011