Wendell Castle: Cantilever
courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery
Carpenters Workshop Gallery Paris presents Cantilever, a solo exhibition of Wendell Castle (1932 – 2018), revered as the founding father of the American Art Furniture Movement, showcasing the artist’s mastery of materials and their properties. Featuring works crafted in wood and metal, from gravity-defying structures of the 1960s to the exploration of classical forms and experimentation with trompe l’oeil, the show captures the dynamic later years of a pivotal figure in redefining the boundaries between art and design in the late 20th century, amidst periods of dynamic cultural change in the US. In a career spanning six decades, Castle forged a unique discipline that seamlessly intertwined sculpture and industrial design, consistently challenging the boundaries of artistic creation.
courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery
His craftsmanship and whimsical, organic approach to sculpture are evident in the minimalist, monochromatic sculptures that feature dramatic cantilevered shapes extending horizontally from seemingly central points of a structure, without load-bearing support, thus appearing to float or defy gravity. The prevalence of the cantilever illustrates artist’s mastery of weight, balance, volume and structural integrity.
Produced between 2011 and 2017, the exhibited works demonstrate how Castle remained at the forefront of contemporary art and design by embracing new technologies late into his career. Exemplifying Castle’s departure from the static nature often associated with modernism, this period was marked by fluid, organic forms that maximised the abstract volume of the works, using digital methods such as 3D modelling, scanning and laser cutting to produce functional yet sculptural works of collectible design.
courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery
courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery
Many are made using the artist’s own groundbreaking technique of stack lamination, which entails skillfully carving into stacked layers of laminated wood. The resulting creations vary in composition, from bulbous to sinewy and serpentine, yet consistently maintain a delicate balance. They include biomorphic stained ash sculptures like Second Coming (2013), Dark Wish (2012) and Something to Hide (2012) and walnut sculptures like Only What It Seems (2011) and Saving Grace (2011).
These sit alongside metal works like Facing the Unfamiliar (2017), made of aluminium, and bronze pieces Arm in Arm (2015) and Veiled in a Dream (2014). Together, the works marry a whimsical aesthetic with a deep understanding of balance and composition and exemplify the unconventional forms that Castle injected into the Art Furniture movement.
Castle’s taste for innovation emerged during his study of sculpture and industrial design at the University of Kansas in the late 1950s. Utilising walnut sourced from a nearby factory, he laid the groundwork for his organic approach to design, inspired by contemporaries like Finn Juhl and Carlo Mollino. Castle’s investigation into different shapes is not only a testament to his technical prowess but also imbues his pieces with a playful and imaginative quality, therein challenging traditional furniture-making norms and establishing the artist as a visionary in the field.
courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery
“Wendell Castle was a master of collectable design and the maturity we see in the works from the last decade of his life represents the culmination of a rich practice that combined form and functionality in the highest senses. The artist’s mastery of the cantilever is one of the most compelling elements of his work, illustrating his unparalleled instinct for space, form, medium and the vast inherent possibilities of materials like wood and metal.
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ABOUT WENDELL CASTLE
Born in Kansas in 1932, Wendell Castle received two degrees from the University of Kansas, one in industrial design in 1958 and the other in sculpture in 1961. He moved to Rochester, New York to teach at the School for American Crafts and established a permanent studio in the area that is still in operation today. He reinvented himself for nearly six decades.
Often credited as the founding father of the American Art Furniture movement, Castle has redefined sculpture and design by seamlessly merging the two into one discipline. He created unique pieces that blur the distinction between design and sculpture. Castle’s organic and whimsical approach to sculpture incorporates his own invented technique of carving into stacked laminated wood known as lamination. His furniture designs for residential clients, public spaces, and a number of churches represent a unique exploration of the qualities and possibilities of wood and fiberglass.
His work can be found in the permanent collections of more than forty museums and cultural institutions, including the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the White House in Washington, D.C. Moreover, he has been the recipient of many honours and awards, including four National Endowment for the Arts grants and the Modernism Lifetime Achievement Award from the Brooklyn Museum in 2007.
ABOUT CARPENTERS WORKSHOP GALLERY
Specialising in Functional Art and Collectible Design, Carpenters Workshop Gallery focuses on producing and exhibiting the work of international artists, designers, and architects, who look to push the boundaries of what is traditionally presented within the confines of the gallery and art fair space. Carpenters Workshop Gallery is founded on the partnership of childhood friends, Julien Lombrail and Loic Le Gaillard, who first opened the gallery in a former carpenter’s workshop in London’s Mayfair. Since then, Carpenters Workshop Gallery has proven its deserved place as a leading pioneer in the world of high art and design, expanding to operate four galleries worldwide, situated in key locations of London, Paris, New York, and Los Angeles. Actively involved in the research, conservation and production of limited edition works, the gallery’s choices are guided by seeking an emotional, artistic, and historical relevance and breaking boundaries between art and design.
This ethos is exemplified by the founding of The Workshop complex in Mitry-Mory, on the outskirts of Paris – a unique 8,000 square meters space dedicated to artistic research, bringing together the elite of practitioners and artisans. Within this creative hub, Carpenters Workshop Gallery artists and leading artisans work collaboratively to produce pieces with a hand-finished touch. The gallery’s next exciting chapter is the recent opening of Carpenters Workshop Gallery’s new London space, within the expansive Notting Hill arts hub, Ladbroke Hall.
For more information about this exhibition and others, please visit the Carpenters Workshop Gallery’s website here. The gallery can also be found on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.
