Raphael Navot’s “On the Same Subject” on view at Friedman Benda  

Raphael Navot’s On the Same Subject on view at Friedman Benda

“On the Same Subject” Installation Image by Daniel Kukla

Raphael Navot’s On the Same Subject, his first solo gallery exhibition, is currently on view at Friedman Benda.

On the Same Subject marks the culmination of an ongoing four-year collaboration with the gallery and serves as a commentary on Navot’s own evolution as a designer. A polymath designer acclaimed for his retail and hospitality spaces and private residences, Navot references his own daily drawing practice to liberate himself from preconceived expectations. Free to question every step and choice in the creative process, Navot uses this opportunity to reflect on the rigorous journey from first concept to realized physical work. “By forgetting the destination and reversing the method, you’re leaving the intention to navigate around the many facets of the same subject,” he states.

An homage to the natural world, this series features a dialogue between handcraft and the natural landscape—referring to the very origins of furniture: “a pile of rounded rocks that invites sitting, a supported sliced pebble that becomes a usable surface.

The final body of work on view synthesizes a myriad of artistic decisions: proportion, volume, material, palette, construction, motif. Pairing European traditional handcraftsmanship with cutting-edge technology such as robotics and 3D printing, this body of work symbolizes the next frontier of high craft with materials ranging from bronze, wood, fossil stone, to eco-resin and recycled PLA.

A link to installation photos can be found here.

The show will be on view through December 10. We hope you can find the time to stop into the gallery to see the work.