Masa gallery's first New York exhibition features work by Frida Escobedo

Mexican gallery Masa's Intervención/Intersección exhibition showcases pieces by artists and designers including Frida Escobedo and Isamu Noguchi in a former post office in the Rockefeller Center in Manhattan.

The exhibition, which is travelling gallery Masa's first in New York City, presents works by a variety of individuals who lived in or were affected by Mexico City.

A wall installation by José Dávila complements a metal bench by Frida Escobedo

Intervención/Intersección is curated by Su Wu, who chose works by both contemporary designers and 20th-century figures – such as Noguchi – who reference Mexico.

Works have been set up both inside a reconstituted United States Post Office space inside the Rockefeller Center and in the public spaces around its outdoors skating rink.

A Noguchi mural hangs on the wall above a bench by Esrawe Studio, with lighting by Marrow and a table by Panorammma

The exhibition aims to challenge "conventional understandings of the public and monumental established by the Mexican masters," Masa stated.

Instead, it will be "showcasing how works of intimacy, process, and personal history might find rousing public expression in both design and art," the gallery said.

A doughnut-like piece by Brian Thoreen and bronze stools by Alma Allen can be seen in the exhibition

"I wanted to pursue things that are discarded or unrealized or rendered functional but in a way that is not necessarily aligned with comfort or utility," curator Wu told Dezeen.

Among the designers on show is Mexico City-based architect and designer Escobedo, who has two experimental chair designs in the exhibition.

Sculptures by Miguel Calderón with chairs by Pedro Reyes, Mario García Torre and Escobedo

One of these is a reconsidered museum bench called "Creek Bench" made of nickel-finished ball chains stretched over an iron frame.

Also featured in the show are works by Ewe Studio, including a collection of sand-casted bronze stools as well as sculptural green onyx pieces, which have been placed for the public aspect of the installation in the plaza around Rockefeller Center.

A suspended table by Jose Dávila sits next to a metallic light by Esrawe Studio

Fabric works by Pia Camil are stretched on the beige-painted walls of the gallery space, and her work was also chosen for the outdoor space, with an installation called “Air Out Your Dirty Laundry” that sees 700 pieces of clothing strung on clotheslines over the plaza.

Tepoztlán-based Alma Allen's bronze stools, meant to be a comment on disability, have been put in conversation with massive hammered-copper, doughnut-shaped chairs by American Brian Thoreen.

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Also on show are elegant lighting and seating projects by Esrawe Studio, while Jose Dávila's engaging conceptual works that play with suspension adorn some of the gallery walls.

Chairs by Pedro Reyes, a metal bench with a horse-hair seat by Hollie Bowden, and a wooden screen shaped like a sound wave by Xavier Loránd can also be seen at the exhibition, which is open by appointment.

Sand-casted benches by Ewe Studio contrast a bench of horsehair and metal by Hollie Bowden and a screen by Escobedo

Self-taught artist Martín Ramírez's work is included among the pieces by 20th-century artists, as are works by American artist Noguchi that were influenced by his time in Mexico.

Masa is a "nomadic gallery" founded in Mexico City in 2018. Past exhibitions have been staged in unusual locations, including one in a mansion outside of Mexico City and one in a Mexican castle.

Intervención/Intersección is open by appointment at Masa at Rockefeller Center until 24 June. SeeDezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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Esrawe Studio and Superflex create stripy ceramic facade for Grupo Arca showroom in Miami

Multicolour tiles form graphic stripes across the exterior of this showroom in Miami, which Esrawe Studio has designed in collaboration with art collective Superflex.

The showroom belongs to natural stone company Grupo Arca and is located in Wynwood, a former industrial district of Miami where scores of converted warehouses are now covered with vivid murals by some of the world's leading street artists.

The showroom's colourful facade is meant to fit in with neighbouring graffitied buildings

When Mexico City-based Esrawe Studio was asked to design the showroom, it was keen for the building to fit in with its neighbours and feature some sort of artwork on its facade – but it needed to have more of a sense of permanence than graffiti.

The studio's founder Héctor Esrawe therefore approached Danish art collective Superflex to jointly create a large-scale ceramic work for the showroom's exterior.

Colours in the facade are inspired by banknotes from different currencies

Titled Like a Force of Nature, the resulting work comprises red, pink, yellow, green, blue, purple and mint-hued tiled stripes.

Two different styles of tile were used – one flat, the other a three-dimensional pyramid shape – to give the facade depth and texture.

Esrawe Studio and Superflex used flat and three-dimensional tiles to give the facade some depth

The colour palette of the tiles was loosely inspired by banknotes from different global currencies, while their arrangement was informed by the Fibonacci sequence – a series of numbers that frequently appears in elements of nature.

"Like A Force Of Nature evokes the illusion that money is as natural as a volcano or tsunami," explained Superflex.

"It explores the disorientation produced by both the intricacy of the natural world and the dizzying economic systems that are rapidly altering that world."

The showroom's reception features a grey stone service counter

Inside the showroom, the studio has veered away from bright colours and instead fashioned neutral spaces that allow Grupo Arca's products to take centre stage.

The ground floor reception area is anchored by a grey stone service desk, which backs onto an L-shaped timber partition denoting the company's logo.

Slabs of marble are displayed inside black metal frames

Visitors then walk through to a lofty gallery-style area where slabs of marble are displayed inside huge black metal frames. Should any marble be selected for purchase, staff can operate an indoor crane to retrieve it.

Upstairs are display areas dedicated to wood, porcelain and other materials that Grupo Arca offers.

There is also a bathroom clad in veiny black and white marble, as well as space for staff to sit and chat with architects, designers and other prospective clients.

Black and white marble lines the showroom's bathrooms

This is not the first time that Esrawe Studio has worked with Grupo Arca. Back in 2019 the studio created a showroom for the brand in Guadalajara, Mexico, which is made up of monolithic blocks of stone.

The Miami showroom was shortlisted in the large retail interior category of this year's Dezeen Awards, along with five other projects including the Dengo chocolate store in Brazil.

The winner in this category was announced as Box, a brightly-hued collection point in Helsinki where people can retrieve their online shopping orders.

Photography is byCésar Béjar Studio.

Project credits:

Architecture, interior design and furniture: Esrawe Studio
Creative direction: Héctor Esrawe
Design Team: Brenda Vázquez, Antonio Chávez
Renders: Yair Ugarte, Emanuel Miramontes
Facade artwork: Superflex, commissioned by Arca in collaboration with Héctor Esrawe
Landscaping: GSLA Design
Intelligent construction: Luz+Form
Local architect: Beilinson Gomez Architects

The post Esrawe Studio and Superflex create stripy ceramic facade for Grupo Arca showroom in Miami appeared first on Dezeen.

#retail #all #architecture #interiors #usa #superflex #miami #showrooms #tiles #florida #esrawestudio #stripes

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