An enormous rock with holes, a solid wood block, a carbon tube bench, a textile box, a flat shape. Jonathan Muecke’s objects sound common or familiar, but don’t let that fool you—they are all quite extraordinary. Forcing the viewer to think outside of the box is Muecke’s biggest triumph.
Jonathan Muecke, Volume Gallery
His elegant array of new objects, on view at Volume Gallery, makes for an interesting series where nothing is as it seems. Form, scale and material come together in unexpected combinations that remain open to interpretation. Furniture design meets sculpture, traditional meets hi-tech, and functionality meets the absurd.
Jonathan Muecke, Volume Gallery
A white-oak-made WTH (Wood Table with Holes), sits next to an aluminum-meets-nylon TB (Textile Box), and his MCT (Marble Carbon Table) made out of marble and carbon fiber, make for well-executed pieces that position Muecke’s works between conceptual and livable. Creating objects that would fit in a museum-like living room as organically as they do in the gallery space, the Minneapolis-based designer is unafraid to play with color (blacks, reds and whites) and textures (a raw stone or a chunk of wood, a cold marble or a sleek aluminum), while at the same time harnessing the power of negative space. Despite their differences, Muecke’s ten new objects fit well together. And wandering within the exhibition bearing his name, one gets a sense of a whole.
Jonathan Muecke, Volume Gallery
Blurring the lines between art, design and architecture, Muecke’s works are often presented in clusters—an ongoing series entitled “Open Objects” that allows for a continuing exploration of his own creative boundaries and of the design discipline at-large. And while every single object is in its own way unique, Muecke’s work has proved to be greater than the sum of its parts.
Through October 30 at Volume Gallery, 1709 West Chicago, second floor
Greek-born Vasia Rigou is a journalist, editor and multimedia content producer largely on the subjects of visual art, culture, architecture and design. She currently serves as an Editor at Newcity, Chicago’s leading culture publication, as Writer and Copy Editor at the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) HQ, and regularly contributes to international architecture and design magazines OnOffice and ICON. She has experience creating content for brands and building conference speeches and influential TEDx talks. Simply put: she’s fascinated by finding out the great stories behind the people, places and objects that surround us, and by sharing those stories with the world. When she’s not writing about art or looking at art—wine in hand—she makes lists for pretty much everything, drinks immense amounts of coffee and takes cross-country road trips every chance she gets.
