Carpenters Workshop Gallery participates in Design Miami 2024 with a booth showcasing a selection of contemporary practitioners at the cutting edge of art, design and craftsmanship, featuring works by Vincenzo De Cotiis, Aki & Arnaud Cooren, Ingrid Donat, DRIFT, Kendell Geers, Steven Haulenbeek, Roger Herman, Pierre Jeanneret, Marcin Rusak and Yinka Shonibare.
One of the highlights of the display is the latest iteration of Windy Chair by Yinka Shonibare. Originally commissioned by Carpenters Workshop Gallery in 2014, this work is a limited-edition series of three pieces, each unique in their Dutch wax-print patterns. Shonibare masterfully creates the illusion of the dynamic movement of a piece of fabric caught in a gust of wind, symbolising the fluidity and adaptability of human experience in an increasingly interconnected world.
Shonibare uses Western art history and literature to explore contemporary culture and national identities, with works examining issues of race and class through the media of painting, sculpture, photography, and film. Windy Chair touches on themes of migration, cultural exchange and the transience of identity. The use of waxed African print textiles adds layers of cultural and historical significance, challenging conventional notions of identity and representation.
The display also includes DC2337B Cabinet with drawer by Vincenzo De Cotiis, an artist whose sculptures are adorned with a sense of temporality, communicated through the object’s materials, texture and precise construction. Silver, glass and hand-painted fibreglass collide in this work, forging a spherical composition that appears like a fragment pulled from the dark depths of the earth’s core. Its reflective exterior imbues ambiguity as it morphs into a modern, elegant piece of history.
Table de Salle à Manger Facettes GM A by Ingrid Donat is marked with a repetitive, mathematical pattern inspired by scarification traditions inspired by cultures that the artist has come into contact with throughout her career. Ingrid Donat is one of the most significant contemporary practitioners in the decorative arts, known for imbuing materials like bronze and wood with warmth and vitality. This work reflects the artist’s interest in mark-making as a form of historical and cultural storytelling.
Combining a diverse range of styles, materials and techniques, and exploring complex subjects of identity, culture and history, this display at Design Miami conveys the beauty and innovation found in contemporary craftsmanship, reiterating Carpenters Workshop Gallery’s commitment to redefining the boundaries between art, sculpture and design.
