Hasta La Ideas

Tokyo-based architect and design outfit nendo opened ‘Ghost Stories’ last night, their first exhibition in New York at the Friedman Benda Gallery (who recently exhibited new work from Ron Arad). The installation presents 40 of their Cabbage Chairs embedded in a sea of suspended cords that fill the gallery space creating a visual haze and forces physical participation if you want to see the chairs up close.

Using a strict black and white color pallet with minimal lighting to create a ‘ghostly’ effect, the hanging cords echo the pleated texture of the Cabbage Chairs which were originally developed in response to a challenge from fashion designer Issey Miyake.

Each white cord is partially painted black and when viewed from a distance, creates a diagonal block of solid contrast across the curtain wall. Nendo experimented with multiple techniques to dye the cord, ultimately settling on the good old trusty marker as this was the only way to accurately control the length of the black coloring. It took the studio nearly a month to color every cord following specs from a 3D computer rendering.

The exhibition runs though till March 28, 2009.

Friedman Benda
515 West 26th Street
New York, NY 10001
Hours: Tue – Sat: 11:00am – 6:00pm

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