Bennet Schlesinger. In Tune With Itself

About

This harmonious gathering of functions and materialities, loosely defined by their relation to flora, gently sidesteps the confines of conceptual prudence in favor of natural reference—the inherent weave with which surface, seat, vessel, and light bind together in space, cohering with the ease and variegation of an orchestra tuning its instruments.

The initial genesis of ITWI was a desire by the artist—who most often works in and with ceramic, bamboo reed, and handmade papers—to make tile. After experimenting with various expressions of traditional mosaic, Schlesinger ultimately returned to his own background, merging the woodwork training he received from a young age (Bennet is a self-described ‘Waldorf kid’ and the product of an education philosophy renowned for its integration of academic work with the fine and practical arts) with a specific method of surfboard fabrication: recently, while building a board with his uncle, the artist utilized a fabric inlay—the technique by which a piece of fabric is placed between fiberglass layers so that its pattern remains visible after lamination. The experience was later reflected in Schlesinger’s decision to embed hand-painted tiles into the surfaces of the various table works that punctuate the exhibition.

This collaborative approach to craft histories and construction, which has evolved from personal use into public practice (beyond works of lighting, the artist had previously only realized functional pieces for himself), is exemplified in Schlesinger’s creative partnership with fashion designer Emily Dawn Long. Together, the two developed the exhibition’s cuboid leather beanbags, studded with hand-made ceramic buttons painted earthen shades of green, blue, and red—a horizon of land, sea, and sky. These tones are echoed in the ceramic sconces that dot the gallery’s walls, supporting luminous paper shades; in the cloudy orange bases of a pair of serenely posed table lamps; in the series of vast planters whose seemingly patinated curvatures dance with the slow growth of lichen on stone. The simultaneous resolution and delicacy of these works settle us into the quietude of the room; of its perdendosi—the gradual diminishment of music into rich silence, having reached the end of a composition.