For its eighth outing at Design Miami/Basel Carpenters Workshop Gallery presents a series of sculptural yet functional pieces, each distinct in its material quality and physical property. Founded in 2005 by French entrepreneurs Loïc Le Gaillard and Julien Lombrail, the gallery represents makers working at the intersection of art and design.
This year the gallery will showcase new works by Maarten Baas, Nacho Carbonell and Dutch-Belgian duo Studio Job as well as iconic pieces by the late sculptor, Franz West, and Wendell Castle, among others. Baas will reveal a new self-portrait watch and Studio Job, known for its reinterpretations of world-famous monuments, will unveil Train Crash Table.
Sculptor Vincent Dubourg transforms familiar domestic items, from wardrobes and chairs to ottomans and cabinets, into unexpected sculptural pieces, such as his “Bhanga Bronze (Gold)”. Dubourg’s brutalist technique and approach to materials is experimental, but he pays homage to traditional craft and techniques such as glass blowing, metal casting and cabinet making.
Standing at just over two metres tall, “Huge Lamp” by late Austrian sculptor Franz West is appropriately named. The artist’s work is well-known to visitors at Miami/Basel for his sculptures made of ordinary materials such as plaster, papier-mâché, aluminium, raw steel, wire and paper.
Spanish artist Nacho Carbonell’s “Table Cocoon 2” will be on exhibit for the first time. The Design Academy Eindhoven graduate is known for his organic forms and rough, colourful textures.
“Veiled in a Dream” is a sculptural seat by American artist Wendell Castle. Of all the pieces on show here, his seamless fusion of sculptural form and functionality is the most beguiling
Robert Stadler’s “Cut_Paste #1” table is made of marble and aluminium panels used for covering building facades. His “Cut_Paste” furniture series is inspired by construction and contemporary architecture.
Stadler will also show “Cut_Paste #8 (stone wood coffee table)”, also made of marble and aluminium. The collection’s name comes from the visual reference to materials that have been cut into pieces and then pasted back together.
