Wendell Castle at work on a maquette.
Images courtesy of Wendell Castle Remastered (2016) except where noted.
Wendell Castle (American, b. 1932) is widely considered the father of the art furniture movement. His breakthrough came in the 1960s when he pioneered the process of carving stacks of wood adhered together, refining and finishing them to perfection.
Wendell Castle Remastered, the recent solo exhibition of work at New York’s Museum of Art and Design, was the first to critically examine his digitally crafted works in the context of his artistic production. Mr. Castle created a new body of work that revisits his own oeuvre from the 1960s and presented them installed with the historic works. His work over time has remained rooted in craftsmanship, more analogous to sculpture than furniture, and consistently remains so. These new works utilize a robot, “one of the largest robots [of its kind] in the world, reaching 12 feet in any direction.” With the introduction of technology to his work, he could dramatically increase the scale and intricacy of an object without worrying it would take him a decade to complete. (Bloomberg 10/22/15)
We’ve been working with our friends at Friedman Benda recently to discuss special acquisition opportunities of iconic Wendell Castle works.
Enjoy some of our favorite designs, old and new.
A collection of maquettes by Wendell Castle.
Wendell Castle, Veiled in a Dream, 2014, Cast bronze, Courtesy of Margaret and Daniel S. Loeb, New York, NY. (2016: pg. 16)
Via InCollect
Wendell Castle, Dining Table, 1966, Exhibition Plate 14. (2016: pg. 48)
A very special desk by Wendell Castle in San Francisco at the R & Company pop-up at Hedge San Francisco, January 2016.
Image courtesy of Suzanne Lovell, Inc.
Detail
Image courtesy of Suzanne Lovell, Inc.