Foundations Furnishings with Shred & Co.
Photo credit Peter Larson
What happens when a traditional painting format is pulled away from the walls? To explore this notion, I partnered with Scott Larson and Carl Ziek of Cleveland, Ohio-based Shred & Co. to create art objects that merge perspectives between art and craft.
Photo credit Peter Larson
Magnificent folding screen paintings in the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection of Japanese art inspired me to create paneled paintings that could be experienced differently on two sides. I sought out the custom craftsmen team at Shred & Co. to co-create an interpretation of a painted paneled screen (2021) that integrated my abstract style with their signature material palette of patinated steel and walnut.
Photo credit Peter Larson
The resulting design showcases a harmony of effects - ethereal shapes and soft textures, graphic steel lines and solid wood grain - that inhabit space in balance, echo the contrast of light and dark on opposite sides, and invite discovery as the viewer moves around the piece. The screen was constructed by Shred & Co. with form and utility in mind. Within the graceful framework, a screw-hinge system allows configuration of the panels at a variety of curves or angles, and can even be separated at the middle to create a curtain effect.
Photo credit Peter Larson
A walnut-topped side table (2021) and two vertical pedestal tables (2022) pushed the collaboration toward new utility and spatial applications. The paintings can be experienced as a continuous narrative on all four sides when placed in a central location, or when rotated at regular intervals. Keeping in mind the rhythmic motion of the viewer, I painted lyrical compositions that compliment kinetic interaction.
Photo credit Peter Larson
Photo credit Peter Larson
Scott, Carl, and I agree that trust in the other partner’s expertise is the central component of a successful creative collaboration. This trust and mutual admiration of one another’s work launched a relationship that continues to produce innovative processes and inspired pieces.