Tim Rodgers, the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD)’s Nanette L. Laitman Director, welcomed artist Chris Schanck Thursday night at a special preview of new exhibition, Chris Schanck: Off-World.
Skirting the line between refinement and camp, the unfamiliar forms of Schanck’s chairs, sofas, lighting, and mirrors suggest coral reefs, extraterrestrial worlds, and artifacts from ancient civilizations. These meticulously handcrafted works are produced in his Detroit studio where a community of artists, students, and Bangladeshi craftspeople all make key contributions to a collective practice.
Guests at the preview included Catherine Futter, Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Damon Crain, President and Founder of Culture Object, Caroline Baumann, former director of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Marc Benda, Friedman Benda Gallery, Elissa Auther, MAD’s Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs and William and Mildred Lasdon Chief Curator, MAD Board Members Marsy Mittlemann and Alexander Hankin, and Christina Senia, Co-Chair with Hankin of MAD Luminaries, the Museum’s young patrons group.
On view through January 2023, Chris Schanck: Off-World, the artist’s first solo museum exhibition in New York City, was guest curated by Andrew Blauvelt, Director of the Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.