Capture is the title of Paul Cocksedge’s inaugural solo exhibition at Friedman Benda in New York. The gallery presents new works that the British designer has developed over the last four and half years. The show features a large-scale light installation, a collection of dome lamps, and a series of steel tables that seem to defy gravity and equilibrium. In addition to the new works, Paul Cocksedge presents three architectural models. In this video we attend the opening reception of the exhibition on September 12, 2013.
Paul Cocksedge: Capture / Friedman Benda, New York. Opening reception, September 12, 2013. Video by Shimon Azulay.
> Right-click (Mac: ctrl-click) this link to download Quicktime video file.
Press release:
Friedman Benda will present Paul Cocksedge: CAPTURE the British designer’s inaugural solo exhibition, September 12 – October 12, 2013. CAPTURE will introduce new works developed by Cocksedge over the last four and half years that push the mediums of light and structure, including a large-scale light installation, a collection of dramatic, seemingly impossible, hand-wrought dome lamps, and Poised, a series of unyielding steel tables inspired by the delicacy of paper. Known for exploring the limits of technology, materials, and manufacturing capabilities, Paul Cocksedge Studio has produced both commercial and experimental work, as well as a series of high-profile public installations around the world. CAPTURE finds Cocksedge presenting a new series of concepts informed by his studio’s commitment to technological ingenuity, expanding the boundaries of physics, and the creation of works that are both thought provoking and unexpected.
A reception will be held on Thursday, September 12, from 6-8 PM at Friedman Benda, 515 West 26th Street.
The works include Capture, a 1.6 meter hand-spun aluminum dome that appears to “hold” the peaceful glow of a warm white light. The piece is informed by a process of reduction””a recurring theme in Cocksedge’s work””as it subtracts the typical infrastructure around light, instead creating a hemisphere that seems to stop light from escaping. For White Light, Cocksedge will create a room within the gallery in which everything and nothing changes. For this work, the designer will create an illuminated mosaic of precisely calibrated and positioned colored panels on the ceiling of the gallery. The ceiling will slowly fade from a spectrum of colors to a warm white light, while the room itself will remain unchanged, demonstrating the ways in which we do and do not perceive the interplay of color and light.
The inspiration for Poised comes from the elegance and amenability of paper. Half a ton in weight, the steel table appears improbable upon investigation. Created following an intensive series of calculations regarding gravity, mass, and equilibrium, the table looks as though it is about to fall, but is perfectly weighted and stable.
In addition to these new works, Cocksedge will present three architectural models that take conceptual threads from Capture and White Light and reapply them to architectural settings outside of the gallery space. Central to Cocksedge’s work is an appreciation for the ways in which people respond to and interact with his designs. As a result, potential real world applications of these new works will be explored in a series of architectural models.
