Mia Karlova Galerie's debut at Salon Art + Design will feature functional sculptures

Amsterdam-based Mia Karlova Galerie will soon display an exposition of collectible design objects and contemporary art installations during the upcoming Salon Art + Design in New York, USA. The New York fair, which features works by some of the most influential galleries, in the realms of art, architecture and design, is scheduled to take place from November 9 to 13, 2023. The list of international artists and designers whose works will be showcased by Mia Karlova Galerie during the annual design event include Sho Ota, Jordan van der Ven, Vadim Kibardin, Jesse Visser, Yulia Batyrova and Marat Mukhametov, Moon Seop Seo, and Olesya and Andriy Voznicki.

Sitting under the realms of both art and design, the works shortlisted for showcase during the art and design fair highlight emotionally-driven and environmentally-conscious attempts at crafting both functional and decorative entities.

Jesse Visser, who is a product designer and interior designer from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, will showcase a special edition of his ‘Beacon of Light,’ a lighting design installation. The sculptural piece pivots with the help of a jute rope running over a fragile pulley jutting out from the wall, representing the ‘fragile point of balance or fulcrum in a world of confusion and uncertainty.’ A piece of unique doubly terminated milky quartz crystal rock holds the hanging luminaire (which is made from sanded glass), in place. “Jesse’s object is both a lighthouse and an anchor, encouraging serenity in its viewer through its form and content,” the design and art gallery asserts.

Eindhoven-based Japanese designer Sho Ota. Known for building minimalist stratified sculptures, Ota will present a sculptural table and console made out of tinted beechwood as part of the Dutch gallery’s showcase during the design festival. He utilises the classic mechanisms of traditional Japanese wood craftsmanship to build pieces using natural wood. The designer sculpts pieces with the intention of displaying the beauty of imperfect natural features, leaving nothing hidden. Ota permits the texture and grain of each piece of wood to dictate the final appearance of his pieces.

Another sculptural creation that bears the potential of mesmerising its viewers with a soft litany of organic curves are the ‘Fluid’ and ‘Bird’ sculptures by nomad artists Yulia Batyrova and Marat Mukhametov. The artist duo, currently based in Turkey, sculpt pieces using lightweight materials, ensuring their brisk movement and a perpetually transforming form. In configuring sculptures that are essentially fluid, the artists manage to give shape to art forms that defy compliance, and instead, move freely, just like natural entities. An excerpt from the press release shared by the gallery further details their process, “The combination of concrete and porcelain speaks about the human loss of harmony with nature and the infertility of attempts to restore it. Batyrova and Mukhametov meticulously assemble countless number of finest porcelain feathers seeking to follow this motion creating extraordinary sculptures.”

Ukrainian sculptor Andriy Voznicki's work trudges further away from their classification under design and snugly sit under the categorisation of art. Voznicki, who hails from Ukraine, and usually crafts three-dimensional sculptures, strayed away from the traditional path of sculpture art to create visceral canvases. He combined pieces of wood, clay, coal and dry grass to create two multilayered and multitextured wall hangings for the design fair. “Our practice is very much rooted in the environment in which we find ourselves at any given moment in our lives. There’s something truly magical about transforming elements that were once utilitarian into unexpected, tactile objects,” added the Ukrainian artist.

Prague-based artist, industrial designer, researcher and craftsman Vadim Kibardin, known for crafting clean and ecologically conscious designs such as furniture design conceptualised with discarded cardboard and paper, will present a chair and vanity table from their Black Mirror collection, at the fair. “The capsule combines both functionality, comfort and a non-trivial sense of luxury - a close characteristic of the outstanding design objects, remaining an undeniable reference throughout many decades if not centuries,” the gallery shares.

Another piece of functional object that will make a show at the American design and art event in November is Dutch designer Jordan van der Ven’s ‘Curved Sculpture’ chair. The chair design is part of a larger collection that is inspired by materials used to configure architectural forms. The process of crafting the pieces in this collection is art-based. The designer began this process by cutting out and configuring rebar metal in curvilinear formats. Once this framework was ready, he applied layers of white cement to it to give it volume. His artistic methodology gives form to objects that are functional.

Mia Karlova Galerie's showcase is part of Salon Art + Design 2023, from November 9 - 13, 2023, in New York.