The Lighting sculptures which Spanish, Eindhoven-based designer Nacho Carbonell has created for a solo exhibit presented by Carpenters Workshop at the Armory Show this week are powerful. They are so strong, intriguing, and dominant, that they stand out in the enormous art fair, drawing you deep into the booth, which looks more like a forest of fantasy than a space in a stand in a commercial fair. Each one of the unique sculptures looks like it organically grows out of its concrete base, its roots. This power, the DNA of these cocoon-like sculptures, is exactly what Carbonell sought to evoke. His pieces manifest transformation, because they are so unexpected and complex, that they enrich the environment, making it changeable, reflecting different moods on different days, suggesting that an object is a living organism. There is nothing plain or dull about them, because they are the type of objects that enhance the experience, they are objects of experience. To fully understand his creations and to allow a peek into his creative process, Carbonell has recreated a part of his own Eindhoven studio. In fact, he brought his entire working table to New York, and this is a brilliant idea. I remember when visiting this atelier last year, I immediately absorbed his work in a deeper manner, better comprehended the spontaneous process behind his art, and the material which makes it that sensual; this is an extra value that the visitors at Armory will gain. All images courtesy Carpenters Workshop Gallery.
