At Venice Biennale 2019, Mathieu Lehanneur has presented a furniture collection made from granite and marble called Ocean Memories Acqua Alta.
Described by Lehanneur as “the floating city frozen into stone”, the collection replicates the waters of Venice.
Featured as part of DYSFUNCTIONAL, the exhibition includes the works of artists and designers such as Virgil Abloh, Michèle Lamy, Nacho Carbonell and Rick Owens.
“We decided to stage DYSFUNCTIONAL to question what defines an artwork; why can artworks not be functional and when does design become art?” asked Carpenters Workshop Gallery (CWG) co-founder Julien Lombrail and Loic Le Gaillard.
“Art is that which an artist makes. Art is not born into a category. An artist can leap between modes and media as they see fit,” stated CWG. “Art demands an emotional response. It is a synapse running from one living thing to another. That is its purpose: intelligence and life in dialogue.”
“It should move you,” said CWG. “It is not necessary that you know how, or to what purpose, you are moved. Art demands intellectual curiosity, creativity and relevance. Why should function constrict an artist? We believe in dialogue between art and the viewer. The viewer then becomes a user.
“Everybody can be an artist. Only a few command the ability,” added CWG. “We believe in Functional Art.”
