Nicole Wermers, 2012:
"Instead of holding books or objects, as this type of shelving might in a private home, or some visually seductive commodity as it might in a commercial context, Wermers' shelves hold pools of water."
vs.
Ignazio Gardella, 1957 :
"With a rationalistic body and a heavy dose of irony, the Digamma armchair and pouf are formed by essential geometric volumes and extremities with a new sensitivity. "
I sometimes got so tired of our game
I wanted you to feel the same" (here)
1. Nicole Wermers 25 Feb 2012 - 7 Apr 2012 @ Tanya Bonakdar Gallery
"In her new sculptures and photographs, Wermers recontextualizes and reimagines modernist forms in ways that frame, contain, and transform the spaces in which they are installed. Exploring how methods of display and presentation affect our understanding and experience of space, these new works continue Wermers' investigation of the legacy of modernism and the aesthetics of consumption in contemporary visual culture.
Wermers installs "Wasserregal," which translates to "Water Shelf," a free-standing sculpture composed of levels of metal shelving supported by irregularly placed U-shaped steel spacers. Each shelf is a different color and Wermers subtly modulates these earth tones, moving from a stone gray hue on the bottom, through shades of smoky purple and sandy brown in the middle, and finally to an eggshell white at the top. While the structure of the work references utilitarian shelving from the mid 20th-century, with its simple materials and straightforward design, its purpose is quite different. Instead of holding books or objects, as this type of shelving might in a private home, or some visually seductive commodity as it might in a commercial context, Wermers' shelves hold pools of water."
2. "Ignazio Gardella was pretty critical with his own work, and showed it in his writings. In these writings he stated his will to overcome the rules of Rationalism and the limits of the Modern Movement: sensitiveness and the eye are seen as the new tools to create new forms and textures.
Following this statement, he created the Digamma armchair, produced in 1957 by Gavina. It is edited nowadays by Santa & Cole, and in this armchair Gardella showed his capacity to join harmoniously elements that belonged to opposite styles at first sight, a common characteristic of most of his works.
The Digamma armchair achieved to overcome Gardella's links with Rationalism: its body is Rationalist (the seat and the back) but its joints (arms and legs) are Ultrarationalist, it is a little masterwork of great aesthetic and formal value".