Since launching this July, GREY AREA has been drawing attention to the nebulous space that exists between art and design. Through an online store and at various pop-up spaces, its expertly-curated collection brings together provocative works that don’t quite fit within the traditional gallery experience
Here, established artists like Tom Sachs, Kiki Smith and Liam Gillick have created jewelry, wallpaper, furniture and other objects associated more with design shops than museums--and with price tags that help make art collecting less exclusive.
Founded by art-world innovators Kyle DeWoody and Manish Vora (who started Artlog), GREY AREA most recently transformed a Hamptons car club into a gallery and shop (featuring an artist-designed kissing booth and food truck) and in their first month has already been featured in The New York Times, W, ARTINFO and Style.com.
Before heading out to GREY AREA’s next pop-ups in Los Angeles and Miami, co-founder Kyle DeWoody will lead an animated discussion at the Museum of Art and Design with Daniel Arsham and Alex Mustonen of Snarkitecture, Sebastian Errazuriz and Orly Genger, three artists/groups whose work is sold on the site. Each panelist arrives at Grey Area from different approaches which, seen together, paint a compelling picture of the emerging zeitgeist.
PANELISTS
Snarkitecture is a collaborative practice operating in territories between the disciplines of art and architecture. Working within existing spaces or in collaboration with other artists and designers, the practice focuses on the investigation of structure, material and program and how these elements can be manipulated to serve new and imaginative purposes. Searching for sites within architecture with the possibility for confusion or misuse, Snarkitecture aims to make architecture perform the unexpected.
Recent work includes the U.S. premiere of Why Patterns, a performance in collaboration with with choreographer Jonah Bokaer; Dig, an installation and performance at Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York, NY; and three large scale public artworks at the Marlins ballpark currently under construction in Miami, FL. Snarkitecture was established by Daniel Arsham and Alex Mustonen and is represented by Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin.
Born in Santiago, Chile, Sebastian Errazuriz was selected as one of the top emerging designers by ID Magazine in 2007, and received the title of Chilean Designer of the Year in 2010. His large-scale, avant-garde public artwork has received critical acclaim and his unique furniture pieces are incorporated in over forty international exhibitions in cities such as Tokyo, New York, Paris and Barcelona, while his design work has been incorporated in exhibitions and pop up shows at the Copper Hewitt, National Museum of Design in New York, The Vitra Museum in Weil AM Rheim in Germany, and the National Museum of Fine Arts in Santiago, Chile.
Describing Orly Genger, Art in America writes: "Orly Genger's sculptures often play with the idea of the left brain versus the right, minimalist gesture versus the expressive gesture, and viewing sculpture frontally versus being immersed in an environment. It also tweaks the gender divide through the very process of its fabrication, essentially a crochet stitch blown up to muscular proportions. Genger uses a technique associated with women's work to parody and challenge the ‘important’ art traditionally associated with men." Recently, Genger has ventured into furniture making and a jewelry design collaboration with designer Jaclyn Mayer. Using the body as both a guide to form and also armature, Genger melds these elements into powerful objects; from hefty benches to decorative elements that adorn the body.
About AIGA NY
AIGA, the professional association for design, stimulates thinking about design, demonstrates the value of design and empowers the success of designers at each stage of their careers. AIGA’s mission is to advance designing as a professional craft, strategic tool and vital cultural force. Founded in 1914, AIGA remains the oldest and largest professional membership organization for design, and is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) educational institution.
