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Valentin Loellmann's first New York solo show is an exercise in restrained artisanal experimentation

Tabula Rasa

Valentin Loellmann's first New York solo show is an exercise in restrained artisanal experimentation

Valentin Loellmann freely co-mingles different materials. Shown here is a brass and walnut bench from his Twenty First Gallery show. (Jonas Loellmann)

The careful fusing of natural wood and cast bronze produces a happenstance burnt-finish that craft-led designer Valentin Loellmann embraces when creating bespoke furniture pieces. In fact, the Maastricht-based German artisan rarely begins a new piece based on preliminary sketches. Rather, he allows the material and a bit of experience-driven technical expertise to drive his process. Though Loellmann composes sculptural works with a tabula rasa approach, they often take on the shape and reference of furniture archetypes: a Shaker-style chaise-lounge, airplane-wing-like bench, monolithic table, towering armoire, amoebic ladder, strategically-jointed chair, and even a semi-circular staircase.

Currently on view at New York’s Twenty First Gallery, in partnership with Paris-based collectible design purveyor Galerie Gosserez, Loellmann’s first solo show in this city, presents a robust selection of monumental pieces, all somehow coated in a layer of iridescent copper or cast bronze. Patinated surfaces and marble slabs are encapsulated in organically-carved yet suggestively-angular dark wooden frames.

Read the full story on our interiors and design site, aninteriormag.com.

 


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