| New York (March 29, 2022) – For TEFAF New York 2022, Friedman Benda will present a setting focused on materiality and excellence in making. Comprised of select works from seminal historic voices placed in dialogue with key contemporary practices, the installation showcases the keenly intuitive way each artist manipulates their chosen medium, foregrounding and viscerally animating its material.
Following his solo at Munich’s Villa Stuck, Misha Kahn will unveil the most recent realizations from his celebrated Rock Series, which deftly melds polished chunks of natural mineral rock with sculpted bronze. Further on the booth, Faye Toogood’s Assemblage 7, which venerates the primacy of traditional artisanal carving techniques, will mark its international debut with a coffee and side table pair.
The latest sofa and armchair from Paris-based designer Raphael Navot’s acclaimed Acrostic series, will also premiere. Acrostic (Lay-Curve) and Acrostic Overlay ’s interlocking volumes, executed in cashmere, silk and oak, are an exploration of the nuances of texture, form, palette, and material, exemplary of the designer’s unique sculptural sensibility.
Visually articulating the singular and versatile vocabulary of one creator, is the inclusion of a late bookshelf from Ettore Sottsass, on view with early ceramic works from the pioneer’s personal collection. Cabinet no. 58, a free and dynamic drawing in space, stands in contrast to the form giving of the 1960’s ceramics – manifestations of foreboding Postmodernist thought.
Acting as a demarcation of space, a composition of plates from Bruno Gambone provides a commanding presence on the back wall. Spanning three decades of the Italian master’s field-leading practice, the exceptional collection displayed is a benchmark for artistic dedication to expression in clay.
The setting is completed by works from Wendell Castle, Carmen D’Apollonio, gt2P, Joris Laarman, John Mason and Thaddeus Wolfe.
A selection of visuals can be found here.
About Friedman Benda
Friedman Benda identifies and advances key narratives in postwar and contemporary design with a commitment to a critical view of design history. We aim to expand the dialogue in the field from its established sources, exploring perspectives that have previously been marginalized. Spanning five continents and four generations, Friedman Benda represents a roster of seminal established and emerging designers, as well as historically significant estates. Since 2007, the gallery’s exhibitions, publications and collaborations with institutions have played a vital role in the development of the contemporary design market and scholarship. Dedicated to archiving the pioneering voices in our field, the gallery hosts Design in Dialogue, a weekly series of online interviews with leading architects, designers, curators, and critics. For further information please visit www.friedmanbenda.com and the gallery’s Instagram @friedman_benda and YouTube channel. |
