The experience of viewing fine art in a design setting is rare and extremely intimate. Art has the power to define a space, to create a mood, to add personality to an interior. Artworks continually transform based on their surroundings, so working within the cross section of fine art and design is incredibly special. The artwork showcased at the aspire Showhouse was painstakingly selected by Don Christiansen, founder of the Chelsea Art Group, and Matthew McCardwell, associate director of Perrotin New York.
“For the aspire Showhouse, it has been a pleasure to imagine our own space,” McCardwell offers, “and to collaborate with such a diverse range of designers to create environments that have a synergy among the many Perrotin artists’ works on view and the textures, colors, and surfaces imagined by each designer.”
Nine artists from Perrotin’s roster appear in the Showhouse, including Daniel Arsham, Jean-Philippe Delhomme, Mathilde Denize, John Henderson, MSCHF, Paola Pivi, Josh Sperling, Xavier Veilhan, and Pieter Vermeersch. Here, McCardwell reflects on what makes these artists such distinguished voices within the Showhouse.
Josh Sperling, Sit & Wonder S, 2024, Maharam wool, plywood, foam
We worked with artist JOSH SPERLING to create an installation of his paintings alongside a new body of furniture works, displayed for the first time in a domestic setting. Throughout his artistic practice, Sperling has referenced the architecture and design world as inspiration for his sculptural works on canvas. Sperling comes from three generations of traditional furniture makers, which forms the foundation of his practice. The tension of his work is that it is immaculately constructed through tedious craftsmanship, while denying the aesthetic of the handmade. With his first foray into furniture design, Sperling has translated his painting language into full-bodied design objects that turn functionality into aesthetic experiences.
Mathilde Denize, Sound of Figures, 2024, acrylic and watercolor on canvas, pigments
Because French artist MATHILDE DENIZE started her career in set design, she is heavily focused on how her paintings move in a space and the scenography of her exhibitions. Denize often uses surplus pigments from film sets as the basis of her paintings and then imagines the abstract forms based on the movement of colors and the shimmering quality of some of her media. We are very pleased to introduce these works into the Showhouse context and see how the textures and imagery respond to the surrounding environment.
Pieter Vermeersch, Untitled, 2024, silk screen print on agate
Throughout the house, we have collaborated with a number of designers, including Leyden Lewis, who selected eight works by PIETER VERMEERSCH to create a unique display of the artist’s recent series of gradient-painted agate works. Vermeersch often works in large-scale spatial interventions, creating immersive environments that interact with the space in which he is exhibiting. In Vermeersch’s installations, the exhibition scenography is integral; the architecture of the space and the works inside it work together to extend the artist’s ongoing exploration of materiality, time, space, and color. We look forward to seeing how the works interact with the environment designed by Lewis.
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