By John Brandenburg
A new show demonstrates that the line between functional furniture and nonfunctional art can be a fine one, or nonexistent, and that how a piece of either is lit becomes a key part of the visual equation.
Called “Illumination: The Art of Lighting & Furniture,†the exhibit of work by 16 central Oklahoma artists is on view at City Arts Center.
Powerfully sculptural are two large, free-standing creations by the JYD Team (made up of “Junkyard Daddies†Cameron Eagle and Chuck Clowers).
One is an imposing, skyscraper-like “Empire State Locker,†made from found metal parts, with its own spotlights in the base, while the other JYD work, “Mr. Kelvinator,†is a self-lit, robot-like figure with a head made from a bathroom scales.
Jeff Gullett contributes a 70-inch-tall DVD/CD display cabinet with multiple shelves, topped by a self-lit art glass box that makes it resemble a Victorian street lamp, as well as the “Lighthouse†of its title.
More futuristic and science fiction-like are the rich red and black, biomorphic (but not necessarily of this planet) office furniture creations of Hugh Meade.
Parts of Meade’s ensemble include a skinny, high-backed “Scorpio†chair, adorned with talon-like shapes, and a “Mothership Trestle Desk,†with strategically placed holes for cups of laser pencils or space grog.
Kyle Golding confronts us with a “Slab Light,†96 inches wide by 60 inches high, and gives us pause with the tornado-like red funnel, lit from the inside, that seems to be boring into a wooden “Lamp Table.â€
Steven C. Schmidt offers us a lineup of one triangular and seven round lamps, most of which are displayed on simple wooden stands, like miniature water towers. Decorating Schmidt’s illuminated creations are such things as numbers and “standard service†signs.Other artists represented in the show include Dennis Johnson, Klint Schor, Kenny McCage, Grant Lacquement and Marcus Eakers. Curated by City Arts Director Clint Stone, the exhibit is highly recommended during its run through Dec. 22.
— John Brandenburg
