|
THE
PROPOSITION
2 Extra Place (East
1st Street, off Bowery)
New York. NY
10003
212.242.0035
A STEP BACK INTO THE
FUTURE
JAMES MONT
Living Room c. 1950
Custom Wallpaper by ESTE
LEWIS
MARCH 26 – MAY 1,
2011
(WED–SUN / 12–6)
Este
Lewis, Natural sponge wallpaper, 2011, dimensions
variable
James
Mont, Couch, mirror, side and coffee
tables
Mickalene
Thomas, Brawlin’ Spitfire Wrestlers, 2010,
bronze, 14” x 9.75” x 10”, #3 in edition of
3
Back when people smoked
cigarettes and drank martinis with no awareness of negative
consequences, James Mont was designing outrageous living rooms
with sofas covered in exquisite densely textured
fabrics and furniture with complex surfaces piled
with layers of tinted lacquers and gold and silver
leaf.
This exhibition will bring
you into a living room of the future set in the past and the
gallery will be divided into three segments, all containing
arrangements of c.1950 vintage furniture designed by James
Mont amidst appropriately themed patterned backdrops of custom
wallpaper designed by Este Lewis.
The Three
Segments:
1.
Full-length mirror, sofa,
coffee table and end table (adorned with Mickalene Thomas’
bronze sculpture
“Brawlin’ Spitfire Wrestlers”) surrounded
by the rich color and texture of natural sponges,
simultaneously blending with and leaping from the earthy tones
and glossy sheen of the furniture.
Este
Lewis, Natural sponge wallpaper, 2011, dimensions
variable
James
Mont, sofa and coffee table, c.1950, original wool
upholstery and wood with polychrome finish,
28.5” x 91” x
33” / 25.25” x 29” x 30.25”
Michael
Eden, Wedgwoodn’t Tureen, 2010, Rapid manufactured
with non-fired ceramic coating, 8.5” x 9” x
7.5”
2.
A Baby grand piano bar
emanating from the center of a wall covered in a
checkerboard-patterned geometric grid of Ziploc bags (a 1950’s
invention) containing separations of various condiments
commonly found in or beside a martini glass. The overall
composition will create another planet for the martini to
exist on- where the condiments become creatures and the
checkerboard evokes a bizarre game of chess in an exotic world
to drink up and play in.
Este
Lewis, Ziploc Martini wallpaper, 2011, dimensions
variable
James Mont, Piano bar table,
c.1950, lacquer and laminate, 37.5” x 78” x 85”
3.
A highly decorative
lamp installation featuring a gold leaf butterfly motif in
which the scene bleeds through the lamp onto the walls using
gold foil from chocolate bars and butterfly stickers creating
a mystical gathering that brings you closer to the
light.
Este
Lewis, wallpaper installation, 2011, gold foil and
butterfly stickers, dimensions variable
James
Mont, lamp, c.1950, Cerused oak and reverse-painted
table lamp with paper shade, 31.5” x 18.5” x 12”
Born in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania in 1983, Este Lewis has a Bachelor of Fine Arts
from SUNY Purchase. Group exhibitions of her work include
White Box Gallery; “Yummy: A Show About Food”
Nexus/Foundation for Today's Art, Philadelphia, PA; Seventh
Biennial Exhibition (Curated by Cornelia Butler, MoMA) A.I.R.
Gallery, NY, NY. Her public wallpaper installations are on
permanent view at The Shala Yoga Studio and at Plan B Bar.
Lewis’s wallpaper art has been featured in many magazines that
include House Beautiful, Time Out, New York Magazine (“Best
Bets”), and Details Magazine. Internationally, her work has
appeared in Grazia Magazine Middle East, and Canada’s The
Globe and Mail. Este Lewis lives and works in New York
City.
Este
Lewis, Ziploc Martini wallpaper (detail), 2011,
dimensions variable
|
