March 15, 2019 – Naples, FL – METHOD & CONCEPT is pleased to announce Design Dimensions, a two-person exhibition featuring work by Bower Studios and artist Matthew Shlian. The exhibition is on view March 28 – May 10, 2019. An opening reception will be held on March 28 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the gallery (26 10th St. S Naples, FL 34102).
Design Dimensions is an examination of depth, light, and self. Interweaving texture, tones, and multidimensionality, it is a marriage of masterful engineering and artistic inspiration that operates as insight into the interpretations of the viewer’s consciousness. Bower’s multifaceted mirrors and Shlian’s delicately sculpted paper speaks to how we spatially orient ourselves to our surroundings. The combination of art and design creates an interactive study of the way one makes sense of things; existing as a domain where the mind is continuously engaged.
Bower’s mirrors project a physical and metaphorical reflection, positing notions about perception and form. A mirror is a gateway to the soul, but when fashioned in a way that engages parts of the whole, it speaks more to what we choose to hide and reveal. As an ominous doorway, mirrors suggest possibilities; as an object, they display parts in more detail, a limited examination.
Shlian’s intricate paper sculptures contain a range of moods in their highlights and shadows, holding space and time within their nuanced depths, forcing us to reckon with both. His work is representative of a constant state of flux, encouraging focus and stillness. Merging Shilan’s innovative paper engineering with Bower’s experimental designs compels the viewer to immerse themselves into the exhibition, imparting the viewer with a multidimensional experience that challenges the way one expects to see.
BOWER is a New York City-based studio with a multidisciplinary approach to contemporary furniture and product design. With a focus on mirrors, they explore perceptions of depth, light and self. Through a free-thinking, experimental process, Bower aims to bring unexpected objects and environments into people’s lives, with reflections taking center stage. Of all the things we surround ourselves with every day, the mirror is most closely related to our consciousness—a humble technology for understanding ourselves. This defining spirit of discovery is present throughout their collections and is passed on to those who engage with a Bower design. Bower Studios is comprised of partners Danny Giannella, Tammer Hijazi and Jeffrey Renz.
MATTHEW SHLIAN is an artist and designer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His work extends from drawings to large scale installations and collaborations with leading scientists at the University of Michigan, where he is currently a visiting research scholar in the Department of Material Science. Using his skills as an engineer, Shilian’s recent work for the National Science Foundation makes nano-scale interpretations of macro-scale paper folding structures.
