Carpenters Workshop Gallery returns to TEFAF New York with a presentation of works that place cutting-edge approaches to light, shape, colour and materiality at the forefront of the contemporary art and design landscape. The display features striking pieces by Maarten Baas, Nacho Carbonell, Aki+Arnaud Cooren, Vincenzo De Cotiis, Ingrid Donat, DRIFT, Roger Herman, Atelier Van Lieshout, Rick Owens, Wonmin Park, Charlotte Perriand and Line Vautrin.
Nacho Carbonell’s light sculptures are defined by their nebulous canopies organically sprouting from concrete bases, often drawing from the artist’s childhood memories of Spain’s natural environment. The sinuous metal trunk and voluminous shade of the work Mushroom Tree is influenced by the shape of the trees that line Spanish beaches, adapted to survive the sun-baked Mediterranean. The work puts the viewer in contact with the elements of nature, with tactile elements that demand closer inspection.
Vincenzo de Cotiis imbues his artworks with artificial histories, working their surfaces with hand-finished patinas and mark-making to create a traceable narrative between object and creator. DC1740A Coffee Table rejects symmetry geometry, adopting a free, organic shape and evoking a sensory experience through illusion, layering silver plated brass, marble and Murano glass. The artist evokes the histories of these materials whilst projecting the artwork into the future as an anthropological symbol.
Three paintings on linen by Los Angeles-based Roger Herman reflect the artist’s instinctual relationship to colour and composition. Featuring abstract painterly gestures, these works – California, Pink, Green, Yellow Drawing; Pink, Beige, Green, 2 right square; and Skull Blue – echo Herman’s bold, experimental approach focused on imperfection, spontaneity and intuition. These painterly gestures extend to Herman’s expressive ceramic works, which celebrate the transformative power of colour.
Dutch designer Frederik Molenschot uses bronze to create robust, large-scale light sculptures that navigate the natural, industrial, urban and cosmic realms. His City Light series is inspired by the innumerable lines of streetlights he observed in Shanghai. The work CL Breda aims to take ownership of its environment and overwhelm the viewer, its structure hand-shaped by Molenschot to acquire detail and vitality. The winding convolutions of this overhead lighting piece serve as an abstract map of the city.
The booth at TEFAF New York 2025 reiterates Carpenters Workshop Gallery’s commitment to the finest collectible design emerging from contemporary makers. With the most innovative approaches to painting, light, sculpture and installation, these works reflect how designers and artists can fuse form and functionality to produce works that redefine the boundaries between conventional genres.
