University at Buffalo (UB)
May 2–August 16, 2015
Liz Lessner, Kate Gaudy, Jozef Bajus, Carlie Todoro-Rickus, Christina Barmosz, Jordan Geiger, Jonathan Casey, Nicholas Bruscia, and Christopher Romano
As the speed of technological progress continues to accelerate,
innovation threatens to outpace architects’ and designers’ working knowledge
of materials thereby limiting their applicability. In order to stay at the cutting edge of design,
a knowledge of the uses, properties, and sources of new materials is essential.
Transmaterial showcases recent work by artists, designers, and architects currently living and working in Buffalo, New York, united by the experimental and innovative use of materials. Inspired by the Transmaterial books written by Blaine Brownell, the exhibition presents new approaches to material culture, from the point of view of various creative disciplines and their intersections.
Liz Lessner’s wearable sculpture suggests a poetic attempt to immortalize the sensorial experience of rain. Kate Gaudy’s luscious fabric disguised as concrete presents a luring mass, similar to marble sculptures draped in silk. Jozef Bajus’ bold in-situ assemblage plays with architectural scale and counterweight, resembling blown-up microscopic imagery. While resembling cloth, he instead uses wood and PVC piping. Light artist Carlie Todoro-Rickus, in collaboration with architectural designer Christina Barmosz, embark on the exploration of technological nuisance towards an utopic shielding from mainstream media.
Designers and architects Jordan Geiger, Jonathan Casey, Nicholas Bruscia, and Christopher Romano crossover to the artistic realm with spatial statements that stand out for the exquisiteness of their materiality. Jordan Geiger’s 3d-printed “prescriptions” resembling bone and utilitarian structures imagine a future fiction that promises to protect us from potentially harmful radiation. Jonathan Casey’s innovative use of fiberglass in concrete composites allows for lightweight wall partitions with increased structural strength. Nicholas Bruscia and Christopher Romano present a dynamic, continuous cell metal façade structure, designed using parametric design and digital fabrication.
Each artist, designer and architect in the exhibition approaches the use of materials differently through numerous processes, allowing a survey of exploratory materials within the gallery space.