"I started as a carpenter, and I still really like making furniture. I call them "insecure sculptures", because they feel like sculptures that have to prove themselves. They have to be useful, which is such a human feeling. I like including furniture in my shows, because it's disarming. If you're 17 and going to a gallery for the first time and you see an abstract painting, maybe you're too nervous to explain it."
Ryan Preciado is a Los Angeles-based artist who integrates carpentry, material histories, and everyday encounters into his practice, challenging conventional distinctions between functional objects and sculpture. His exhibition Diary of a Fly at Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House features high-gloss steel sculptures, woven tapestries, and Memphis Design-influenced furniture that harmonize with the architect's Modernist interiors rather than conflicting with them. Preciado's career includes a 2024 institutional solo show at Palm Springs Art Museum exploring carpenter Manuel Sandoval's work under Wright, participation in the Hammer Museum's Made in L.A. biennial, and exhibitions at Matthew Brown and Karma galleries. He describes his functional pieces as "insecure sculptures" that must prove their utility, intentionally incorporating furniture into exhibitions to create accessibility and disarm viewers unfamiliar with contemporary art.
#contemporary-sculpture #functional-design #craft-and-art #architectural-engagement #material-practice
Read at The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]