"Material Autopsy"

From R & Company:

On April 20, R & Company will open a solo exhibition of new and recent work by emerging Houston-based designer Joyce Lin—her first since she joined the gallery’s program in 2021. In recent years, Lin has come to be recognized for creating works that explore the connections between outer surfaces and interior structures through pieces such as Egg Chair (2019) and Skinned Table (2020). With her forthcoming exhibition, titled Material Autopsy, Lin is continuing these explorations, while also delving more broadly and deeply into the range and impact of human intervention into our physical surroundings. Her distinct practice captures the humor and anxiety related to the ongoing erosion of boundaries between the natural and artificial and embraces material experimentation as core to the art of making. Material Autopsy will remain on view through August 11, 2023, at R & Company’s Tribeca location at 64 White Street. 

“I often use organic materials like wood, but also find myself manipulating and injecting them with resins to keep them looking a certain way in perpetuity. Sometimes I encase them in plexiglass to achieve the feel of a taxidermied specimen or artifact, neither dead nor alive. The exhibition title, Material Autopsy, speaks to this idea of “limbo” or state of transition in which my objects so often exist, as well as my own commitment to dissecting my materials to understand them, change them, and see them anew,” said Lin.

Material Autopsy will be presented in two distinct but interrelated sections. The first section features existing and new permutations of chairs and objects that expose and contrast raw and industrial materials, such as foam, plywood, and fiberglass. They are further inspired by scientific illustrations and crosssection diagrams found in contemporary and historic geology textbooks. Among the works are new iterations of the Log Chair (original 2021), which encases segmented portions of the chair in acrylic, and the 1-800-Get Pink chair (original 2020), which exposes the chair’s foam layers via organically shaped cutouts that suggest the chair is shedding its outer skin. The works in this section embody Lin’s interest in examining how things are made, where they come from, and how separate parts interact to make a functional whole.

The second section features entirely new bodies of work that weave together natural wood, found materials, and “faux bois” (false wood) techniques, actively blurring the boundaries between real and imagined wood properties. Among the works is the Root Chair (2023), which is made from real found branches and appears as though it has planted a tangle of roots into the floor. The work invites dialogue about our understanding of what makes something organic. Also included are several Burl Busts (2023) that incorporate real wood slices, CNC routed and hand sculpted forms, and painted faux wood grain. This singular combination of materials suggests a mutated growth of chair parts and creates a dynamic contrast with the Root Chair. Taken together, the objects in Material Autopsy reflect on the condition of being a maker in the Anthropocene, as well as Lin’s personal fascination with our ability to manipulate our environment, resulting in a disconnection between truth and appearance.

“We first began showing Joyce’s work in 2019 and remain excited and inspired by her unexpected and singular approach to material experimentation. Her works are aesthetically and conceptually intricate, bridging the realms of functional design and fine art sculpture in new and compelling ways. We look forward to presenting her work more fully in this solo exhibition and to capturing the depth of innovation inherent to her practice,” said Evan Snyderman and Zesty Meyers, Co-founders and Principals at R & Company.

About Joyce Lin

Lin grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, where she attended the Alabama School of Fine Arts and first began creating kinetic sculptures, solidifying her interest in pursuing the arts. Her cross-disciplinary interests led her to attend the Brown-RISD Dual Degree Program, where she earned bachelor’s degrees in Furniture Design at the Rhode Island School of Design and Geology-Biology at Brown University in 2017. Today, she is based in Houston, where she teaches at TXRX Labs and produces new work at the East End Maker Hub. Her work is held in the public collections of the RISD Museum, Mint Museum, City of Houston Civic Art Collection, and New Orleans Museum of Art. Lin’s Exploded Chair (2019) will be included in Parall(elles): A History of Women in Design at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art, from February 18 - May 28, 2023.

About R & Company

For over 20 years, R & Company has championed collectible design, advancing the contemporary marketplace and actively growing a global collector base and clientele. Its founders, Zesty Meyers and Evan Snyderman, are widely recognized for identifying rising talent, deepening scholarship about collectible design, and developing new avenues for growth in the industry. R & Company maintains two dynamic spaces in New York: its expansive, inaugural space at 82 Franklin Street features a rotating display of interior environments highlighting gallery designers, while 64 White Street offers an active roster of solo and group exhibitions and includes a Library and Archive of more than 4,000 books, journals, and other materials. The gallery is committed to nurturing and sustaining the markets and careers of both emerging and established designers, as well as to maintaining and expanding commercial and academic interest in historic design. Its roster of international designers includes Wendell Castle, Rogan Gregory, the Estate of Greta Grossman, Serban Ionescu, Hun-Chung Lee, Joyce Lin, Roberto Lugo, Jolie Ngo, Katie Stout, Johnny Swing, Studio Job, Joaquim Tenreiro, and Jeff Zimmerman, among many others. With its vision, passion, and expertise, R & Company serves as a critical platform for experiencing 20th and 21st-century objects and discovering innovative, rare, and significant design.