Wellington exhibition show-cases art and functionality
Wellington exhibition show-cases link between art
and
functionality
· Potocki
Paterson Art Gallery, 41 Dixon Street, 3rd to 7th October
2018
·
11:00am –
6:00pm weekdays, 11:00am – 3:00pm
weekends
In
a new exhibition, Plato – The Power of Play,
Wellington-based designer, Kris Ericksen, shows the
complementary relationship between art and functionality.
Through a spectacular display of domestic and
commercial décor - lampshades, acoustic wall panels and
sculpture - Mr Ericksen demonstrates how everyday
practicality can be transformed into modern art.
He
also tells the story of how creative exploration, and play,
triggered the invention of the Plato system – a unique
design concept which forms the basis of all his
creations.
Made up of flat, pliable, interlocking
individual pieces, the Plato system can be fastened together
to create a multitude of shapes and structures of varying
sizes and colours. Designs can be further modified by using
different sized Plato pieces and by altering the shape of
the fronds of each segment.
The exhibition features
staples from the Plato Lighting collection – the
Solsträle (Sunbeam
Cylinder),
Trekant (Triangle Tetrahedron),
Firkant (Square Cube), and the
Bold (Ball Dodecahedron) – as well as
bespoke creations such as the gargantuan Sværm
(Cloud) chandelier. The names of
the pieces are words that reflect the artist’s Danish
heritage.
Also on display will be a range of
Ericksen’s sculptures including Rata in
Flower, a 1200mm square made from 60mm Plato base
pieces and Blue Waves, a decorative wall
piece or ceiling panel comprising base pieces of 90mm
each.
The wall art section showcases Mr Ericksen’s
contemporary ‘hush’ panels which have been developed
from two designs that he entered into the World of
WearableArt Awards (WOW) – Phoenix
Transformer, a winged cape, in 2014 and
Tane’s Korowai (cloak of the forest,
featuring rata flower tabs at the end of each of the
pieces), in 2015.
Constructed from 30mm base Plato
pieces, Phoenix Transformer came second in the South Pacific
section. The garment is currently on loan from WOW and will
be on display at the entrance to the Potocki Paterson
Gallery for the duration of the WOW event - from 27th
September through to 14th October 2018. Tane’s Korowai was
a category finalist featuring a collection of three cloaks.
These will also be on display.
Kris Ericksen is also a
NYCxDESIGN Awards Honoree (Emerging Talent section, earning
the accolade after he was invited to exhibit his lighting
range at the 2016 New York Design Week.
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