Object & Thing

Object & Thing presents object-based works existing at the intersection between art and design. Launched in 2019 as an exhibition in New York City that reimagined the art and design fair concept, it has since evolved into an itinerant exhibition program collaboratively organizing site-specific exhibitions within iconic 20th century artists’ and architects’ homes – including Robert Dash (Sagaponack, NY), Jack Lenor Larsen (East Hampton, NY), Gerald Luss (Ossining, NY), Eliot Noyes (New Canaan, CT) and James Rose (Ridgewood, NJ).

Object & Thing has recently begun to additionally dedicate its focus to representing a group of artists whose practices go beyond the traditional hierarchy between art and design.



Medumi Shauna Arai's delicate noren brings together materials from various cultures and eras  through the boro technique (the Japanese analogue to American scrap quilting), many of which she then dyes with natural botanicals in her studio. Hung on a branch it is placed within the partition between the main space, and the more intimate back area of the of the shop that leads to the garden, both demarcating and decorating the spatial transition.

Carved out of Eastern Black Walnut and set within a scaffold-like encasement, Teague Costellos's carved set of coasters are as sculptural as it is functional, lending itself to being used, or simply looked at.

Jane Crisp has created a number of trugs, this time in warm cherry wood. A trug is a functional object, used for holding flowers, vegetables or eggs. However, in the deft hands of Jane Crisp they become altogether transformed into a rare object of skill, tradition and astonishing beauty. Combining her experience as a furniture maker, and her interest in boat-building practices and materials, Crisp elevates the trug to a sculptural object that references the hull of a ship or a wing of a bird folding back on itself. For this project, Crisp has used a warm cherry that speaks to the setting.

Part of her Giardino Segreto series inspired by secret gardens captured in renaissance painting and textiles, Sophie Lou Jacobsens' limited edition candle holders explore the poetic tension of fragile yet enduring beauty. Hand sculpted in soda lime glass, the piece juxtaposes the liquid like glass of the base with the alabaster white of the petals. The material echoes the vulnerability and delicacy of that which they represent, highlighting the preciousness of nature even when frozen in time.

Kiva Motnyk created a work composed of a multitude of textiles that the artist sourced and brought together from different moments in time and place. United within a new composition that juxtaposes size and opacity, the work becomes an ever changing apparition of light and form that never reveals itself in the same way to the viewer twice. Utilizing natural botanical dyes, Motnyk has imbued the work with an overarching tonal direction that gives the textiles new life and context.

Frances Palmer held a special early spring wood firing in her purpose wood kiln. A true work of alchemy, Palmer uses clay bodies specifically designed for wood firing, selecting glazes that play well with the ash and flame. No two pots are alike and can never be repeated - a magical chemistry that can happen only in this type of firing and the glazes that result can be seen as paintings on the forms. 

Heath Wagoner creates metal works and adornments rooted in a deep appreciation for craftsmanship that captivate and inspire by highlighting the beauty of everyday rituals. For this project Wagoner created a number of silver utensils with singular use, from a tinned fish fork to an ice cream spoon. They are objects of beauty - perfect in form, line and proportion - that elevate your every day.