Press Room

The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) and the New York City Department of Transportation's Art Program present two public works by Wendell Castle to be officially unveiled on Tursday, October 27, 2015 at 1pm.

Acting as both sculptures and outdoor public seating, the newly created bronze works, Wandering Mountain (2014) and Temptation (2014) serve as an introduction for the public to Wendell Castle Remastered, the first museum exhibition to examine the digitally crafted works of Wendell Castle, acclaimed figure of the American art furniture movement.  In this solo exhibition, on view from October 20, 2015 through February 28, 2016, Castle takes inspiration from the first decade of his own artistic production to create a new body of work that revisits his groundbreaking achievements of the 1960s through a contemporary lens.

Though best-known for his work in wood, Castle has also experimented in the past with fiberglass, bronze and steel. Most recently, he has embraced digital technologies and revisited these materials, creating larger, more complex forms, including a new series of cast bronze works for indoor and outdoor use.

"The Museum of Arts and Design is delighted to partner with the NYC DOT on the installation of the Wendell Castle bronzes, building on the success of our previous outdoor collaboration. When touring Wendell Castle Remastered our visitors no doubt will wonder what it feels like to actually sit in a Wendell Castle work of art," said Ronald T. Labaco, MAD's Marcia Docter Senior Curator. "Through the installation of Temptation and Wandering Mountain they will have an opportunity to experience how surprisingly comfortable these sculptural works can be, attesting to his mastery of the medium. The works were also installed with a mind to capture the Columbus Circle monument in the background."

 "DOT values our continued collaboration with the Museum of Arts and Design, a partner who understands how public art can activate space and bring attention to a great New York City institution," said DOT Assistant Commissioner of Design + Art + Wayfinding Wendy Feuer.

WHAT:

Media and Photo Opportunity
Photo-op for the finished installation of two Wendell Castle sculptures: Wandering Mountain (2014) and Temptation (2014)

Photograph/videotape the public works outside the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) at Columbus Circle and hear directly from the curator with remarks by MAD and NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) officials.

WHO:

Museum of Arts and Design Marcia Docter Senior Curator Ronald T. Labaco DOT Assistant Commissioner of Urban Design and Art Wendy Feuer

WHEN:

October 27, 2015 at 1pm

WHERE:

Columbus Circle at 59th Street
Outside the Museum of Arts and Design (2 Columbus Circle)

Please RSVP to press@madmuseum.org. For more information about the Wendell Castle Remastered exhibition, please find the press release here or contact the press office at press@madmuseum.org.

About the sculptures
Wandering Mountain (2014) and Temptation (2014)
Castle has long been interested in how his work can engage outdoor and public spaces. During the sixties and seventies he frequently photographed his new furniture pieces out-of-doors to document them in nature. Throughout his career, he has created sculptures that double as public artworks, including M (1971) for Marine Midland; Twist (1972—1973), a community sculpture; and Unicorn Family (c. 2011), an outdoor living room installed at the Memorial Art Gallery, all in Rochester, New York. The towering heights of Wandering Mountain make its presence imposing in a way that creates the dynamism necessary for outdoor works, while the holes that occupy the seats of both sculptures allow for condensation to drain away. Although Wandering Mountain and Temptation were not designed as public artworks, they take their place in the community of New York during this installation.

Both cast-bronze sculptures are made in the vocabulary of Castle's most recent body of work, that is comprised of varying combinations of seed pods—like those seen on Temptation—and cones—found on Wandering Mountain. These forms emphasize his interest in nature, which consistently influences his furniture.

Castle's bronze works—these included—are made between his own studio in upstate New York and Carpenters Workshop | Roissy, a studio space north of Paris dedicated to traditional artisanship. The metalworking is done in France, however, Castle creates full-size plugs in urethane foam that serve as the basis for the prototype, which is then cast to create a mold for the final work. The plug is made using the same stack-lamination techniques as the wooden pieces, rough-cut and carved by Castle's computer-numerical-control (CNC) machine, and given a surface finish by hand. Then, Carpenters Workshop Gallery makes a prototype based on this plug, commissions the casting out of house, and completes the surface finishing and refining to Castle's specifications. The surface of Temptation has been incised with repeating lines in a diagonal cross-hatch pattern, which gave the work a unique surface texture after casting.

ABOUT THE MUSEUM OF ARTS AND DESIGN
The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) champions contemporary makers across creative fields, presenting artists, designers, and artisans who apply the highest level of ingenuity and skill to their work. Since the Museum’s founding in 1956 by philanthropist and visionary Aileen Osborn Webb, MAD has celebrated all facets of making and the creative processes by which materials are transformed, from traditional techniques to cutting-edge technologies. Today, the Museum’s curatorial program builds upon a rich history of exhibitions that emphasize a cross-disciplinary approach to art and design, and reveals the workmanship behind the objects and environments that shape our everyday lives. MAD provides an international platform for practitioners who are influencing the direction of cultural production and driving 21st-century innovation, fostering a participatory setting for visitors to have direct encounters with skilled making and compelling works of art and design.

ABOUT THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION'S ART PROGRAM
Launched in October 2008, the New York City Department of Transportation's Art Program invigorates the City's streetscapes with engaging temporary art installations. The Program partners with community-based organizations and artists to present murals, sculptures, projections, and performances on plazas, fences, barriers, bridges, and sidewalks for up to 11 months. Projects are presented within five program tracks: Arterventions, Barrier Beautification, Community Commissions, Art Display Case, and Site to Site. For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/dotart.

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