1 September 2012 - 27 January 2013

Mint Museum Uptown

 

Against the Grain: Wood in Contemporary Art, Craft and Design demonstrates how 20th and 21st century creators have engaged the medium of wood with conceptual and technical strategies. This timely exhibition addresses a heavily debated topic in the field: as the boundaries between art, craft and design increasingly overlap, should these categories be redefined, and if so, how?  In Against the Grain, the versatile medium of wood is used to address this issue, exploring postmodern tendencies including mimicry, assemblage, virtuosity, and whimsy (with a serious purpose), as well as environmental issues associated with woodworking. Against the Grain debuts at The Mint Museum followed by a presentation at the Museum of Art and Design in New York (February - May 2013). 

 

There are approximately 60 works in the exhibition including vessels, furniture, sculptures, paintings, installations and works created since 2000 by an international roster of artists, craftspersons, and designers such as Alexandre Arrechea, Martin Baas, Gary Carsley, Andrew Early, Maria Elena Gonzalez, Silas Kopf, Mark Lindquist, Sofia Maldonado, Matthias Pliessnig, Martin Puryear, Betye Saar, Hiroki Takada, Alison Elizabeth Taylor, and Ai Weiwei.

 

 

Selected Print and Online Resources for Featured Artists

 

Ai Weiwei

• Artist's website
• Detailed article on Ai's political commentary and art from The Economist
• Website for the film, Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, directed by Alison Klayman
• Interview with Ai, TIME Magazine's Person of the Year Runner-Up for 2011 from TIME
• Profile with video and news from PBS Frontline
• BBC News feature on Ai Weiwei, his art and his political activism:

 

Alexandre Arrechea 

• The artist's official website
• Video interview with the artist from Havana Cultura 
• Radio interview on the artist's participation in the 2011 Venice Biennale from ArtonAir.org 

 

Maarten Baas

• Artist's website
• Feature article with images of Baas' designs from Cool Hunting 
• Interview with Baas from Behind The Designs 
• Article on Baas from DAMn° magazine 
• Video interview with Baas, winner of the Designer of the Year 2009 at Design Miami 

 

Eric Beltz

• Artist's website with biography and portfolio
• Information on Beltz' career and graphite drawings from Santa Barbara Museum of Art's blog 
• Review of his work from Art in America 
• Artist gives insight into his work at SBMA exhibition in this video: 

 

 

Gary Carsley

• Images, biography and links to press articles from Margaret Thatcher Projects
• Information about the piece in the exhibition from Wave Hill
• Artist prepares for the Wave Hill 2012 Wild Garden show:  

 

Wendell Castle

• Artist's website 
• Biography, images and more from R Gallery
• Description and photos of the Wendell Castle Rockin' exhibition at Barry Friedman Gallery from CONTEMPORIST 
• Innovation Hall of Fame profile from Rochester Institute of Technology 

 

Hunt Clark

• Artist's website
• 2009 article from Craft Arts International 

 

Willie Cole

• Artist's website
• Biography and information on his artist-in-residence participation from Art ReMix
• The Mint Museum presented one of Cole's first solo museum shows, Willie Cole: From Our House to Your House , in 1991.
• Cole talks about his work in this video from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts Artist in Residence program.
• Sims, Patterson. Anxious Objects: Willie Cole's Favorite Brands. Montclair, NJ: Montclair Art Museum, 2006. 

 

Joachim de Callatay

• Designer's website
• Information on the wedge shoe on display in Against the Grain from the NY Times blog
• Interview with de Callatay from Irenebrination (originally published in Zoot magazine)

 

Leonardo Drew

• Artist's website
• Review of the artist's work from The Arts Fuse 
• Installation video and profile of Drew from 30 Americans exhibition site from the Corcoran Gallery
• Exhibition information on "Existed: Leonardo Drew" and interviews from Blaffer Art Museum 

 

Andrew Early

• Artist's website
• Feature article based on interview with Early from Extra-Ordinary Art & Artists 
• Brief bio from Africa Fair 

 

Piet Hein Eek

• His website
• Interview and image slideshow from Dwell 
• Article on Eek's designs at Future Perfect from New York Times 
• Watch a profile of Piet Hein Eek from Dutch Profiles

 

Sebastián Errázuriz (aka Sebastian E)

• Artist's website 
• Video from Design Miami 
• Interview with Errázuriz from Interview magazine
• Article on his "Occupy Chairs" from the CNN website courtesy of Cristina Grajales Gallery 

 

Laura Facey

• Artist's website
• Article on Tracey's "Body and Blood of Christ" and the controversy the piece created from Jamaica Observer 

 

Jackie Ferrara 

• Artist's website
• Information on the artist and her "Terrace" project from UC San Diego 
• Educational video with basic biographical and stylistic information on Ferrara from What is Sculpture? at the Saint Louis Art Museum

 

Maria Elena Gonzalez 

• Transcript of 2003 interview with the artist from BOMB Magazine 
• Review of the artist's 2006 Internal DupliCity exhibit from The Brooklyn Rail 
• New York Times review of 2000 exhibition at Knoedler & Company and The Project 
• Artist statement and bio from the Maryland State Arts Council
• Sangster, Gary. Cadences: Icon and Abstraction in Context. New York: New Museum of Contemporary Art, 1991. 

 

Kcho (Alexis Leyva Machado)

• Biography and images from Marlborough Gallery
• Video interview with Kcho from Havana Cultura 
• In-depth exhibition review and article from Cuban Art News 
• Abelardo, Mena Chicuri. Cuba Avant-Garde: Contemporary Cuban Art from the Farber Collection. Gainesville, FL: Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, 2007.

 

Silas Kopf

• Artist's official website 
• Transcript of interview with the artist from the Smithsonian Institution's Archives of American Art 

 

 

Mark Lindquist

• Artist's official website 
• Biography from The Smithsonian American Art Museum in relation to his "Revolutions in Wood" exhibition
• Hobbs, Robert Carleton. Mark Lindquist: Revolutions in Wood. Richmond, VA: Hand Workshop Art Center; Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1995.

 

Thomas Loeser

• Artist's website
• Article on Loeser's conceptual basis and work from American Craft
• Information on exhibition at Gallery NAGA from Express Milwaukee 
• Boyd, Virginia. Contemporary Studio Case Furniture: the Inside Story. Madison, WI: Elvejem Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin, 2001. 

 

Sofia Maldonado

• Artist's website
• Guest blog entry by the artist on her debated 42nd Street mural from Huffington Post Blog 
• Short description of how skateboarding scene's influence the artist's work from New York Magazine 
• Article on themes in her murals from New York Daily News 
• McLendon, Mark. Beyond Bling: Voices of HipHop in Art. London: Scala, 2011.

 

Roy McMakin

• Exhibition news from New York Times Blog 
• Artist's background and information on collected pieces from The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum and the Roy McMakin: Middle exhibition catalogue
• Images and exhibition review from Cool Hunting 
• Website of McMakin's furniture company 
• McMakin, Roy.  The Art of Roy McMakin: When is a Chair not a Chair?. New York: Skira Rizzoli, 2010.

 

Moody and Farrell (Eloise Moody)

• The hat designer's website
• Watch a short video from Little Scraps of Paper website 
• Blog on Moody's history and background from Style Bubble 

 

Mark Moskovitz

• Designer's website 
• Images of Moskovitz' "Facecord" chest of drawers from Design Milk 
• Moskovitz' artist statement from his 2005 Emerging Artist Award sponsored by DaimlerChrysler

 

Juan Munoz

• The 2001 obituary announcing Munoz' unexpected death at age 48 from The Guardian 
• In-depth interview with Munoz from The University of Chicago Press
• Article on journalist's friendship with Munoz from Frieze Magazine 
• Watch an interview with Tate Modern curator, Sheena Wagstaff, on Munoz' retrospective exhibition 

 

Gareth Neal

• Designer's website
• Short description of his work and statement from the artist from Thingness of Things blog
• Profile with images of Neal's work from Design Boom 

 

Matthias Pliessnig 

• Designer's website
• Article on Pliessnig's designs from SOMA Magazine
• Brief overview of Pliessnig's work from Inhabitat 
• Watch the designer's process as he creates the piece "Spill":

 

 

 

Martin Puryear

• Video interview, biography and image slideshow from PBS' Art21 
• Detailed information on the artist from MoMa's 2007 Martin Puryear retrospective exhibition 
• New York Times review on the artist's retrospective exhibitions 
• Crutchfield, Margo A. Martin Puryear.  Richmond, VA: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2001.
• Davies, Hugh Marlais. Martin Puryear. Amherst, MA: University Gallery, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 1984. 

 

Pablo Reinoso

• Artist's website
• Information on and images of Reinoso's chair installations from PIECE UNIQUE Gallery 
• Biography and press article links from Carpenters Workshop Gallery 
• Brief overview of Reinoso's shoe designs from Design Boom 

 

Marc Andre Robinson

• Artist's website
• Biography and images from New G:Class Museum plus an audio link to a brief talk by curator Laura Hoptman
• Article on Robinson's 2010 exhibition from Maryland Institute College of Art 
• The backstory of Robinson's Castoff Chairs from New York Times' T Magazine Blog 

 

Laurel Roth

• Artist's website
• Profile with recent exhibition history and more from ArtSlant 
• Interview with Roth from Troutfactory Notebook 
• Biography and information on Roth's residency and fellowship from the de Young Museum

 

Betye Saar

• Artist's website
• 2006 "Life is a Collage" article and interview with Saar from NPR includes audio
• Detailed biography and video clips from the National Visionary Leadership Project 
• Interactive website tribute to Saar from SFMOMA's Voices and Images of California Art series 
• Secrets, Dialogues, Revelations: the Art of Betye and Alison Saar. Los Angeles: Wight Art Gallery, University of California, c1990. 
• Saar speaks on her artistic style in this video from the National Visionary Leadership Project

 

Hope Sandrow

• Artist's website
• Article "At Home with: Hope Sandrow" on residing with chickens from New York Times 
• Feature on Sandrow's open air studio from Huffington Post Arts Blog 

 

Shao Fan

• Article on Shao Fan's process and "Chairs" from the Victoria and Albert Museum
• Brief biography and images from Art Zine China
• Profile from 2011 Business of Design Week conference in Hong Kong

 

Courtney Smith 

• Biography and CV from G Fine Art
• Smith's artist statement from the Museum of Art and Design New York 
• Critical review of one of Smith's exhibitions with Ivan Navarro from FindArticles.com , originally appearing in Artforum
• Images of her work and brief bio from Art Pension Trust New York 

 

Eric Souther

• Artist's website
• Check out Souther's blog Synaptic Signals 
• Souther's biography from his faculty page at Indiana University - South Bend 
• Profile with images and video from Rhizome at the New Museum 

 

Elisa Strozyk

• Artist's website
• Information on Stozyk's flooring designs from New York Times Blog 
• Brief post with images of Strozyk's wooden textiles from Oddity Central 
• Article on wooden fabric from Start Up Fashion 
• Feature on the artist's accordion cabinet design from Design Boom 
• Find out more about how Elisa Strozyk creates her wooden textiles - watch this!  

 

Hiroki Takada 

• Artist's website
• Images of Takada's "Tea Ceremony Chair" from Design Boom 
• Images of Takada's "Diamond Light" from Moco Loco 

 

Alison Elizabeth Taylor

•  Artist's official website with contact information
• Interview with Taylor from NPR's Studio 360 with images 
• New York Times article on the artist's "Foreclosed" exhibition
• Transcript of interview with the artist from The Brooklyn Rail 

 

Barthélémy Toguo

• Artist's website
• Biography from the Contemporary African Art Collection 
• Video interview with Toguo from Tang Museum 
• Interview with Toguo and images of his work from Philagrafika 

 

Yuya Ushida

• Artist's website
• Images, video and a description of Ushida's "sofa_XXXX", constructed of 8000 chopsticks, from Design Boom 
• Article on the "XXXX_Sofa" from Icon Magazine Online 

 

Jeroen Verhoeven

• Biography, images and exhibition information from Blain Southern
• Studio Demakersvan, the design studio of Jeroen and Joep Verhoeven and Judith de Graauw 
• Information on Verhoeven's "Cinderella Table" from the Victoria and Albert Museum 
• Brief description of Verhoeven's presentation at Socially Yours: Alternative Design Networking Seminar  in 2007 from the Hong Kong Community Museum Project 

 

Ursula von Rydingsvard

• Artist's website
• Watch this video of the artist installing three of her large sculptures at MOCA Cleveland 
• Interview with von Rydingsvard from Works & Conversations 
• Review of SculptureCenter exhibition from the New York Times 
• Video segment featuring von Rydingsvard's work from Art21 (Art in the 21st Century, Season 4, 2007) or view these resources in the Mint Museum Library 
• Biography from Landmarks at University of Texas at Austin 
• Article on 2012 Frost Art Museum exhibition from Huffington Post includes video and an electronic exhibition catalog
• Von Rydingsvard, Ursula. Ursula von Rydingsvard: On an Epic Scale. Purchase, NY: Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, State University of New York, 2002. 

 

Phoebe Washburn

• Biography from Whitney Biennial 2008 
• Feature article on Washburn from W Magazine 
• Blog post on artist's installations from Inhabit 
• "Adding Up, Letting Go" , a review by Jerry Saltz from The Village Voice 
• Images of Washburn's work from Zach Feuer Gallery
• Information on Washburn's Institute of Contemporary Art Project from ICA

  

Floris Wubben

• Artist's website
• Images of Wubben's work from Dezeen Magazine 
• Images and information on "Eyrie Chair" from Moco Loco 
• Detailed views of Wubben's "Tree Fungus Shelf" from Design Boom 

 

Yard Sale Project

• Website of Yard Sale Project, the design group of Ian Spencer and Cairn Young 
• Images of the artists' work from Design Milk 
• Biography and specific information on works from Todd Merrill Studio Contemporary 
• Profile from getwoodworking.com 

 

 

General Print Resources in the Mint Museum Library

• Art 21: Art in the Twenty-First century 2. New York: Abrams, 2003.
• Choosing Craft: the Artist's Viewpoint. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2009.  
• Common Ground: Contemporary Craft, Architecture and the Decorative Arts. Hull, Quebec: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1998. 
• Crafting Modernism: midcentury American Art and Design. New York: Abrams, in association with Museum of Arts and Design, 2011. 
• Diamonstein, Barbaralee. Handmade in America: Conversations with Fourteen Craftmasters. New York: Abrams, 1995, c1983. 
• Modern Americana: Studio Furniture from High Craft to High Glam. New York: Rizzoli, 2009.
• New Handmade Furniture: American Furniture Makers Working in Hardwood: American Craft Museum, New York, May 3-July 15, 1979, followed by a national tour. New York, NY: American Craft Museum, 1979.
• Outside the Ordinary: Contemporary Art in Glass, Wood and Ceramics from the Wolf Collection. Cincinnati: Cincinnati Art Museum; Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2009. 
• Perrault, John. Turned Wood Now: Redefining the Lathe Turned Object IV. Tempe, AZ: Arizona State University Art Museum, 1997. 
• A Sculpture Reader: Contemporary Sculpture since 1980. Hamilton: ISC Press; Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2006. 
• Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary. New York: Museum of Arts and Design, 2008. 

 

 

Against the Grain: Wood in Contemporary Art and Craft is made possible through generous support from Founders’ Circle Ltd. and Moore & Van Allen PLLC.  Exhibition organized by the Museum of Arts and Design. 

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Created by Nicole Jacobson, Volunteer for the Mint Museum Library