Client Work is a section dedicated to recent client projects.
In the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of working on several writing projects for Twenty First Gallery, a contemporary decorative arts gallery in Manhattan. Here’s a few samples.
Artwork Descriptions
These descriptions of artworks from a recent group exhibition were written for the gallery’s website.
François Corbeau – Bronze Bas Relief Credenza
Bronze Bas Relief Credenza, a luxurious solid bronze credenza by the self-taught designer François Corbeau, boasts a polished surface with rippled sculptural contours that reflect light and evoke a hefty sensuality.
Giuseppe Ducrot – Chrome Demi-Lune Console
The sinuous neo-Baroque silhouette and shining metallic glaze of Chrome Demi-Lune Console, a one of a kind piece by the celebrated Italian ceramicist Giuseppe Ducrot, blends spirited directness and simplicity of gesture, belying the technical mastery behind this handcrafted functional decor object.
François Salem – Cailloux Table and Drops Table
The unique round ceramic tables Cailloux Table and Drops Table by Parisian ceramicist François Salem reflect the artist’s subtle eye for proportion alongside his distinctive glazing technique and color palette focused on painterly, opalescent textures.
Farfelus Farfadets – Valentine Mirror
Nestled within the petal-like folds of white papier-mache, the convex mirror of the Valentine Mirror by Parisian artist duo Farfelus Farfadets is elegantly framed by overlapping cornices that invite shadows to play within their asymmetrical layers.
Maurice Marty – Assemblage Cabinet
Assemblage Cabinet, a monolithic heavy bronze and wood three-door cabinet by the multifaceted artist and designer Maurice Marty, is forged of robust forms recalling nuts and bolts; its industrial surrealist edge is magnified by the shining bronze “drips” lining the cabinet doors which appear to melt between dark blocks of aged solid wood.
Artist Biographies
This extended artist biography was written for a catalog publication.
Hélène de Saint Lager
Hélène de Saint Lager is a sculptor based in Paris known for her distinctive pieces made from poured aluminum and polyester resin. Having studied art history at the Louvre School and worked previously in restoration, casting, metalwork, and millinery, her approach melds functionality with a painterly approach to color and form to produce her lively and surrealistic creations.
In her home workshop in Ivry-sur-Seine just outside of Paris, de Saint Lager creates her crystalline resin works, which shimmer with iridescent colors and inclusions that range from metallic paper cuttings to objects such as flowers and tiny multicolored Eiffel Tower replicas, a cheeky touch that exemplifies the artist’s lighthearted and refreshingly un-self serious approach. Unafraid to engage a broad palette of forms, finishes, and stylistic diversions, her work comprises light fixtures, tables, chairs, mirrors and sculpture works that are dreamlike and plasmic, at times congealing into an alien camp aesthetic. Her fantastical bronze and aluminum furniture are made with the assistance of a metal caster and retain the signature of their liquefaction, lending a sense of lavish exuberance and delightful disequilibrium. For those bold enough to embrace them, de Saint Lager’s pieces reward the senses with their warmth, richness of materials, and luxurious abundance of color and shapes.
De Saint Lager’s artistic methodology is rooted in her breadth of experience in the worlds of art and design, and her work retains a diaphanous aura all its own, while conjuring a host of visual associations and predecessors such as Fauvism, science fiction films, and assemblage art. She has been sought out by the world’s top designers including Jacques Garcia, who has commissioned her work for Schiaparelli and Hotel La Réserve in Paris, L’Institution in Lyon, and Maison Vougeot; as well as architect Peter Marino, who has placed her tables in Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior boutiques in London, New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Seoul.
Exhibition Writing
This short text was written to announce a new exhibition at the gallery.
Twenty First Gallery is pleased to present A Year Around The Sun, a new selection of works brought together in the first exhibition at the gallery since the shut downs. After a long, challenging winter, glimmers of optimism rise to the surface as the city comes to life again. From the delicate flowers and leaves floating in inky resin of Marçin Rusak’s Flora objects, to the softly curving ceramic forms climbing François Salem’s Petals lamp, to the brilliant warmth of François Corbeau’s Bronze 4 Door Low Cabinet, these works restore movement and light to the space after a period of quiet. The show also introduces new ceramic console pieces by Giuseppe Ducrot, in the artist’s first showing at Twenty First Gallery after being recently added to our artist roster. Bursting with dynamic expression, the exhibition heralds the fresh energy of a new season.