Plywood, Etc.
Kent, CT
10 October / 8 November
James Barron Art / Kent is pleased to announce a group exhibition entitled, “Plywood, etc.” which will include art and designs by Jules de Balincourt, Marcel Breuer, Moira Dryer, Charles and Ray Eames, Albert Frey, Richard Tuttle, Rebecca Warren and Frank Lloyd Wright.
Plywood is a popular, man-made material, often used in the construction of art shipping crates and exterior walls. The exhibition explores the uses of plywood and other utilitarian materials in art and furniture design. “It’s this very polarity—low/high,” says gallerist James Barron, “that is the show’s compelling premise. This utilitarian material has been utilized by renowned architects, designers, and artists and completely transformed into great art.”
In the 1930’s, Breuer began experimenting with forming ordinary wood to make chairs. Later, Charles and Ray Eames developed their plywood molding technology to shape leg splints for the U.S. Air Force, a technique that they later used for their LCW chair. Architect Albert Frey focused on spare design and simple materials. Like Frey, Frank Lloyd Wright sought to synthesize every aspect of a home to make a cohesive, integrated space and often built furniture to suit each home he made. Jules de Balincourt and Moira Dryer use plywood as canvas, incorporating its surface irregularities into their paintings. The “etc.” encompasses other ordinary materials that have been used in both design and art. MDF provides a background for Rebecca Warren’s assemblage. Richard Tuttle’s ad hoc pieces of wood are assembled in a post-Cubist relief.
James Barron, a dealer of modern and contemporary art, was previously based in Rome, Italy. Barron relocated his efforts to Connecticut to open James Barron Art / Kent. Previous exhibitions include Sol LeWitt in Connecticut, Cornwall Bohemia, and August Flowers. He currently lives in South Kent with his wife, photographer Jeannette Montgomery Barron.