INDUSTRIAL HEAVEN
WENDY ANDREU, BRAM VANDERBEKE AND BRUNO HUGOUNENQCurated by Franklin Ayzenberg
SEPTEMBER 17
— DECEMBER 01, 2021
— DECEMBER 01, 2021
In his book, Wabi-Sabi: Further Thoughts, Leonard Koren wrote, “The beauty of Wabi-Sabi involves perceiving something extraordinary in something that might otherwise be regarded as quite ordinary, undistinguished, or barely there.”
With this philosophy in mind, Franklin Ayzenberg conceived the exhibition “Industrial Heaven”. By inviting three artists who utilize unusual mediums to create functional and decorative sculptures, Ayzenberg produces an environment that allows the visitor to discover the improbable beauty of industrial materials. For “Industrial Heaven”, Wendy Andreu, a Parisian artist, and trained metal craftswoman, provides two aluminum pyramids (made in collaboration with artist Bram Vanderbeke), along with a pigmented concrete shelf, resulting in a triumph of both thoughtful design and functionality.
Bruno Hugounenq is an Arles-based artist who has mastered the Renaissance technique of faux- marble, commonly known as scagliola. Hugounenq uses plaster, natural pigment, and bone glue to create functional sculptures and arresting decorative objects. His work offers smooth spheres, organic shapes, color, and reflection – juxtaposing but complimenting the hard, aluminum edges and textural cement in Andreu’s work.
Ayzenberg has seamlessly combined Andreu’s and Hugounenq’s sculptures to create an original gathering space, where Andreu’s aluminum pyramids act as a home for Hugounenq’s scagliola spheres. Andreu’s metalwork hugs a small pile of genuine concrete mix in the center of the gallery. Reminiscent of the beach rocks and Roman marble that can be found near the river delta in the Camargue, a natural reserve south of Hugounenq’s Arles home, his stone seating area is situated directly on the mass of concrete.
Andreu’s cement shelf has been deliberately positioned in the smaller room of the gallery to act as a library within the exhibition space. Koren’s book, Wabi-Sabi: Further Thoughts, sits patiently on Andreu’s shelf, emphasizing the unexpected beauty created when industrial materials like aluminum, plaster, and cement are brought together to produce an imaginative, functional space for living.