Paul Evans, Rare Steel Studio Disc Bar, USA, 1968
Yard Sale Project, Chaise One, UK, 2016
Niamh Barry, Walking, IRE, 2015
By Todd Merrill Studioย | Tuesday, Aprilย 27, 2016
New York, NYโTodd Merrill Studio is pleased to announce that it has relocated to a new, expansive gallery at 80 Lafayette Street, at the corner of White Street in TriBeCa. Surrounded by twenty-foot tall walls, the 4,000 square-foot space is comprised of two areas: a white-box Marble Gallery, that will host thematic and solo artist exhibitions, and the Main Gallery, a massive sun-lit open corner space that will exhibit vintage and contemporary studio works.
Since its inception over 15 years ago, Todd Merrill Studio has established itself as a prime source for vintage studio design, culminating with Todd Merrillโs seminal book on the subject Modernย Americana:ย Studioย Furniture from High Craft to High Glam (Rizzoli, 2008). Eager to discover todayโs studio artists, Merrill launchedย Studioย Contemporary in 2009, representing an international group of 20 established and emerging contemporary artists making unique, material-driven works in the โgrey spaceโ between art and design.
OPENING PARTY
On May 12, 2016, 1stdibs will host an Opening Party at the gallery, welcoming designers, curators, and collectors to its inaugural installation of 20th and 21st century studio furniture, light sculptures, and decorative works.
The Marble Gallery will exhibit new works by the galleryโs Studio Contemporary artists that reference historic sources in the decorative arts: Beth Katlemanโs whimsically opulent three-dimensional porcelain โwallpaperโ (collections and exhibitions: Museum of Art and Design, Moรซt-Hennessy Prize: Best Decorative Object, House of Christian Dior, et. al), Molly Hatchโs fragmented plate paintings of 19th century patterns (High Museum of Art, Boston Museum of Art, et al.), and Shari Mendelsonโs ancient-inspired โup-cycledโ plastic vessels (RISD Museum of Art, Cooper Hewitt Museum of Design, Boston MFA, et al.) together show how the past influences the present while the present re-invigorates interest in the past.
Extending this theme, the Main Gallery will exhibit original creations in metal, wood, and stone, by combining vintage and contemporary high-end studio work.
In metal, rare works by Paul Evans from the 1960s-80s, including his first ever rare steel Disc Bar (1968), enter a visual dialogue with todayโs hand-sculpted bronze and steel pieces: Echoing Evansโ penchant for highly textured surfaces, the gallery will exhibit Erin Sullivanโs lost-wax cast bronze tables and K. Gretchen Greeneโs torch-blown steel works (recent collections: House of Christian Dior). Contrasting these textured works, the gallery will display Soraya Osorioโs smooth and minimalist grazed brass sculptural furniture, such as the Ave chaise, and steel and bronze cantilevered tables by Gary Magakis, as profiled in The Financial Times (2015).
In wood, vintage George Nakashima, Paul Evans and Phillip Lloyd Powel join 21st century works that push walnut, ash, and oak to unprecedented aesthetic and technical heights including: Yard Sale Projectโs Chaise One, a massive hand-carved French walnut chair, Markus Haaseโs hand-carved walnut sconces embedded with onyx and LEDs, and Marc Fishโs micro stack-laminated consoles.
A collection of Niamh Barryโs light sculptures, inspired by human form and movement, will hover over and illuminate the new space. Since the inception of her artistic career with Todd Merrill Studio in 2012, Barry has ascended the art and design world, becoming one of the most sought after figures working in LED light sculptures today. Examples of her suspended, tabletop, wall-mounted, and standing works will be exhibited. The artist was recently profiled in Architectural Digest and Galerie magazine (2016).
Extending the subject matter of bodies, a selection of Jan Yoors charcoal drawings and sculpture of nudes from the 1970s, previously exhibited at the Felix Art Museum and the Naples Museum in Florida (2013) face the contemporary bound nudes from Stephane Graffโs Constrictions photographic series (1991-2013).
KARL SPRINGER LTD
Todd Merrill Studio is pleased to announce that it will also be reissuing original designs by Karl Springer, as the exclusive representative of Karl Springer LTD. The gallery will showcase a mix of the artistโs vintage exotic-skin and lacquered works alongside the iconic pieces being reissued today, including his amorphic Free Form Table and Mushroom Lamps, now made with LEDs.
OTHER NEWS
Todd Merrill Summer Studio, a seasonal white-box gallery located in Southampton, New York, will reopen in Summer 2016. The gallery will continue to exhibit at prestigious art and design fairs worldwide throughout the year, beginning again in the Fall 2016.
Todd Merrill opened his eponymous gallery 15 years ago at the corner of Ludlow and Stanton, pioneering the rebirth of the Lower East Side. In 2005, the gallery moved to Bleecker Street in Noho. Today, Merrill is thrilled to join the established and emerging gallery scene between the Lower East Side, Chinatown, and Eastern TriBeCa.
For press inquiries, please contact:
Anya Firestone
Director
info@toddmerrillstudio.com
212 673 0531
Barbara Dixon
Media Relations
Barbara@BarbaralDixon.com
212 933 1879 โ 646 709 1536
TriBeCa, NYC: 80 Lafayette Street โ Southampton, NY: 11 South Main Street
212 673 0531 โ info@ToddMerrillStudio.com โ www.ToddMerrillStudio.com
