Installation view, “Jack Craig: Protist” at Volume Gallery
Between animal, plant and fungus, it becomes hard to tell the difference: Jack Craig’s furniture collection seems to have a life of its own. Created primarily out of melted carpet, the work is soft and fuzzy—and it passively invites interaction. Craig, a former electrical engineer who worked on stealth technology for the U.S. Navy before he pivoted into the world of industrial design, is fascinated by altering familiar materials in unexpected ways. His process is about transformation and regeneration. Breathing new life into material that is often discarded or overlooked—in this case, carpet—he first melts it and then proceeds to sculpt it into extravagantly grotesque furniture and fantastical design objects—from chairs and mirrors to coffee tables and vases.
Installation view, “Jack Craig: Protist” at Volume Gallery
Named after the group of diverse eukaryotic, predominantly unicellular microscopic organisms, “Protist,” on view at Volume Gallery, is playful, thought-provoking and at times, intense. Vivid colors—blues, yellows, pinks and whites—add an edge to the porous textures that clash with the bare gallery walls. And as wood, glass and carpet collide, so do aesthetics and functionality. One cannot help but rethink the material world, its shape-shifting qualities and its unlimited potential. Embracing biomimicry, the process of learning from and then emulating nature’s forms, processes and ecosystems to create more sustainable designs and solutions, “Protist” brings pressing issues, such as conservation, sustainability and environmental justice to mind at a time when reducing our impact on the environment is more critical than ever. By masterfully infusing the dynamics of nature into works that exist between furniture, sculpture and installation, the artist considers and eventually reconnects with the natural world and invites the viewer to do the same.
“Jack Craig: Protist” at Volume Gallery
Harnessing the power of nature, “Protist” forms an ecosystem—a strange-looking living room that is full of life and awakening energy. The viewer experiences an expanded state of consciousness—a surge that could be gentle and gradual, or sudden and intense, depending on how they navigate the single-room, white cube exhibition space. And as the soft sculptures quietly “breathe” through their pores, one feels, rather than see or touch, their presence.
Jack Craig’s “Protist” is on view at Volume Gallery, 1709 West Chicago, through August 12.
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.
