The creative endeavours of the multi-dexterous designer Marcel Wanders have long been heralded since he debuted his iconic 1996 'Knotted Chair' – a cunning twist of whimsy. In celebration of his radical style, Friedman Benda is hosting ‘Portraits’, Wanders’ first ever solo gallery show in New York.
‘Over the past ten years, Marcel has built a personal body of work parallel to his industrial design and architectural work,’ says Marc Benda, who has supported the Dutch designer’s career for a decade. ‘"Portraits" is unexpectedly personal, intimate and immersive,’ he continues.
‘What I've done is try to create the ultimate combination of traditional crafts and technology, but with the goal of expressing a more intimate and fragile side of myself,’ says Wanders. ‘My personal duality is on display as I want both to shine, but also to reflect what is real as to darkness and brokenness. At times, I express vulnerability, disappointment, disillusion and shame.’
‘Shiqule Nuhai’, two monumental vases, reference Wander’s extensive collection of Delft jewellery. Only, rather than glazing them in traditional blue, Wanders hand-painted the pattern in black to reflect his darker sensibilities. Also on view are three mirrors dubbed ‘Dysmorphophobia 1, 2 and 3’, each edged in craggy stainless steel. ‘Mirrors do to truth what bias does to knowledge,’ he notes.
As one might expect, Wanders’ sculptural works also venture into the quixotic. ‘Tempter’ is a solid bronze rocking unicorn, complete with metal chain stirrups at close to six feet high. The result is as fantastical – and evocative – as ever.
‘Over the past ten years, Marcel has built a personal body of work parallel to his industrial design and architectural work,' gallerist Marc Benda says. '"Portraits" is unexpectedly personal, intimate and immersive’
‘What I've done is try to create the ultimate combination of traditional crafts and technology, but with the goal of expressing a more intimate and fragile side of myself,’ says Wanders. Pictured: a series of Wanders' ceramic One Minute Sculptures
Some of the show's highlights include three mirrors dubbed ‘Dysmorphophobia 1, 2 and 3’, each edged in craggy stainless steel, and 'Shiqule Nuhai', two monumental vases which the designer hand-painted in black to reflect his darker sensibilities
A closer view of 'Shiqule Nuhai' – the designs of which reference Wanders' interests in Delft jewellery design
It's also hard to miss Tempter - a solid bronze rocking unicorn, complete with metal chain stirrups, which measures close to six feet high
INFORMATION
'Portraits' is on view until 9 April. For more information, visit Friedman Benda's website
Photography: Andrew Meredith. Courtesy the designer and Friedman Benda
ADDRESS
Friedman Benda
515 West 26th Street
New York, NY 10001
-
Two new villas extend Christian Louboutin’s exuberant Portuguese hotelA pink, kasbah-inspired residence and a whitewashed boathouse join the French shoe designer’s Vermelho Hotel in Melides, Alentejo
-
Peel back maple branches to reveal this cosy midcentury Vancouver gemOsler House, a midcentury Vancouver home, has been refreshed by Scott & Scott Architects, who wanted to pay tribute to the building's 20th-century modernist roots
-
A spectacular lakeside house in Canada results from a radical overhaulSplyce Design’s Shoreline House occupies an idyllic site in British Columbia. Refurbished and updated, the structure has been transformed into a waterside retreat
-
The spread of Butter: the Black-owned art fair where artists see all the profitsThe Indianapolis-based art fair is known for bringing Black art to the forefront. As it ventures out of state to make its Los Angeles debut, we speak with founders Mali and Alan Bacon to find out more
-
Steve Martin wants you to visit The Frick CollectionThe actor has appeared in a video promoting New York’s newly renovated art museum
-
'What does it mean that the language of photography is invented by men?' Justine Kurland explores the feminist potential of collage'The Rose,' at the Center for Photography at Woodstock (CPW) in Kingston, New York, examines the work of over 50 artists using collage as a feminist practice
-
Architect Erin Besler is reframing the American tradition of barn raisingAt Art Omi sculpture and architecture park, NY, Besler turns barn raising into an inclusive project that challenges conventional notions of architecture
-
The dynamic young gallerists reinvigorating America's art scene'Hugging has replaced air kissing' in this new wave of galleries with craft and community at their core
-
Meet the New York-based artists destabilising the boundaries of societyA new show in London presents seven young New York-based artists who are pushing against the borders between refined aesthetics and primal materiality
-
‘Her pictures looked like pictures everybody knew were the truth’: Diane Arbus at the ArmoryMatthieu Humery curates more than 400 of Arbus’ photographs at New York’s Park Avenue Armory – every picture she was known to have printed
-
Mystic, feminine and erotic: the power of Penny Slinger’s bodies as landscapeArtist Penny Slinger continues her exploration of the sacred, surreal feminine in a Santa Monica exhibition, ‘Meeting at the Horizon’
