Todd Merrill Studio anchors on artistic collectible objects at Salon Art + Design

A radiant Medusa lamp, voluptuous glass globes, studded ceramic plates and sculptural furniture marked American contemporary art and design gallery Todd Merrill Studio's eighth showcase at this year's Salon Art + Design fair. With a reputation for cultivating an international roster of established and emerging artists, each bringing an unprecedented vision to the contemporary design landscape, Todd Merrill Studio unfurled its curated assemblage of design, fine art and singular objects.

"Each work is a testament to the studio's unwavering commitment to craftsmanship, pushing the limits of traditional techniques and materials to create works of extraordinary beauty and functionality," mentions the show's press release, endorsing the gallery's role in furthering collectible design.

The global artists and designers represented by Todd Merrill Studio contribute to a new visual language that transcends conventional material limitations, from wood and metal to glass and resin, creating pioneering works that redefine the boundaries between art and design. At this year's design event in NY, the gallery's booth was replete with works of ingenuity and finesse. Each exhibited piece vividly embodied each creative's personal touch within an intimate studio environment.

Below are STIR's picks of some of the key exhibits from Todd Merrill Studio's exhibit at Salon Art + Design, held from November 7 - 11, 2024, in New York, USA.

Germany-born sculptor and lighting designer Markus Haase, known for his masterful fusion of stonemasonry, metalworking and LED technology, unveiled a hand-carved, serpentine LED light titled Medusa, as the exhibit's focus. Each element of the sculpture (a completely new body of work), from its bronze armature to the carefully inlaid marble, reflects Haase's attention to detail and technical prowess.

"Paying homage to its mythological namesake, the work's inherent beauty draws the viewer in, who remains seemingly frozen in space while admiring the sheer magnificence of the work," the gallery's official statement relays. Another exhibit presented by Haase was the asymmetric Circlet series chandelier, which explored the potential of cast aluminium "while seemingly defying gravity…He remains the only artist working at this level creating works of this complexity by his own hand," the gallery notes.

At Salon Art + Design New York, American sculptor John Procario debuted with evocative, organic forms with a fluid aesthetic. Reflecting on the sensual contours of the human body and the undulating landscape of the Hudson Valley, his Sculpted sofa series features a gentle C-curve, with a floating, thirteen-foot ash wood frame that eludes gravity, rooting only at the rounded corners. Procario intuitively shaped each form through meticulous layering and carving, honouring the natural curves of the micro-stacked wood base with cream alpaca wool upholstery. The artist also introduced new lighting designs, including a vertical navy Tear Drop LED light sculpture and the horizontal Free Form silhouette light, epitomising his "signature organic aesthetic".

Framing the entrance of the gallery's booth at the design fair was the Totem series by American contemporary artist and lighting designer Jamie Harris, who transforms light and colour into a striking vertical sculptural art piece. Each Totem, crafted from hand-blown, voluptuous glass globes, exudes a tranquil, ethereal quality while standing as a bold, epochal structure commanding presence while exemplifying his proficiency in glassblowing with a meditative, painterly approach.

According to the gallery established in 2000, Harris views these works as "columns of light concretised by vertically assembled objects," describing his symbolic dialect as "the abstract language of light and colour". The artist plays with shades of cerise, rose gold and cerulean, achieving a rich palette that mirrors his inspirations from Venetian glasswork and 20th-century colour theorists. With the Totem series, the contemporary designer extends his commitment to pushing the boundaries of glass as both a medium and an expressive art form.

Massachusetts-based artist Molly Hatch reimagined historical ceramic artistry with Attune, an intricate assemblage of 107 hand-painted earthenware plates accented with underglaze, glaze and 22K gold lustre. The installation translates a monumental, cross-cultural dialogue into an intimate scale for a private residence. Hatch's plates, adorned with motifs from diverse historical ceramics, offer a layered homage to the interconnected global trade networks that have shaped artistic traditions.

Italy-based multidisciplinary design studio Draga & Aurel presented Ribbon Lamps and an expansion of its Flare series, reflecting the artist duo, Draga Obradovic and Aurel K. Basedow's "inspirations of retro-futuristic space age design, optical art, and minimalism's clean lines and elegant simplicity,” as per the press statement. The Ribbon Lamps, named for their sinuous Lucite forms, emit a dynamic, floating light effect as colour shifts through the gracefully curved surfaces. Begetting functional art objects, the Flare series features a monumental cabinet and dining table, exploring the interplay of light and transparency in bold Lucite and resin. "Flare is a spark of colour that explodes, frees itself, and takes shape," explains Obradovic, capturing the studio's expressive and experimental approach.

Todd Merrill Studio's exhibit at Salone Art + Design fair this year exemplified a harmony between artistry and craftsmanship, inviting viewers to engage with light, form and texture in modest and interesting ways. Other creatives and design practices participating in the showcase included New York-based ceramicist Christopher Russell, France-born artist Djivan Schapira, French lapidary sculptor Hervé Obligi, and Georgia-based artist Erik Speer. This year's booth also featured a bleached white jute rug design from Patterson Flynn, a silver leaf wallpaper from Phillip Jeffries and upholstered fabric from Dedar.