NYAB Event - Lucky DeBellevue “Open Concept”

Lucky DeBellevue “Open Concept”

Kai Matsumiya

This event has ended.

The title comes from the catch phrase often heard on the Home and Garden Television Network (HGTV). Whether invoked for a renovation project, or a couple looking to buy their first home, the words Open Concept appear like a mantra as desired contemporary living spaces.

More formally, the title references the idea often used in the world of architectural design about the elimination of barriers which separate functional spaces that theoretically adapt to the malleability of tastes and styles. The artist references the evolution and adaptions of an interior space at Kai Matsumiya by responding to its changing physical histories- most recently the remains of a Wu Tang clan merchandise store.

DeBellevue’s works emphasize the domesticity aspect in Open Concept in its various art incarnations evident in his process. Wood veneer is ironed into sculptural forms. Surfaces are sometimes washed, scrubbed, eliminated. Evidence of everyday activity runs throughout each piece; the ritual of eating finds its way into the work, shells which would normally be discarded become patterns on printed linen. The artist cites the design group Memphis and the artist/designer William Morris as significant influences for this exhibition.

Similarly, DeBellevue’s works make malleable the properties of two-dimensionality and three-dimensionality, painting and printing, sculpture and installations, without sacrificing its original art concept, practice, or form. These new works, in turn, are placed at Kai Matsumiya which now results in the latest manifestation of the space.