Manga Meets Modern In The Work of Jessica Lichtenstein.

Antique chairs paired with risqué textiles and large mounted word sculptures, inside of which lie stylized fetishized illustrations of women frolicking in landscapes, are the some of the ways in which Manga and Modern are incorporated into the work of artist Jessica Lichtenstein. The artist also has a current series of Manga figurines in plexiglass boxes that I am not including in this post.

Yum:

details:

above: UV Printed on Acrylic, 45 x 81 1/2 x 2 in | 114.3 x 207 x 5 cm

Play:



detail:

above: UV Printed on Acrylic, 37 x 89 1/2 x 2 in | 94 x 227.3 x 5 cm

XOXO:

detail:

above: UV printed on acrylic, 22 x 48 x 4 inches | 56 x 122 x 10

Lust:

detail:


above: UV Printed on Acrylic, 38 x 88 1/4 x 4 in | 96.5 x 221.5 x 10.2 cm

War:


detail:

above: UV Printed on Acrylic, 45 x 91 x 4 1/4 in | 114.3 x 231 x 10.7 cm

Bloom:


detail:

close-ups:

above: UV printed on acrylic, LED lights, and stainless steel, 33 x 75 x 4 in | 84 x 190.5 x 10.3 cm


The Chairs:





King Chair:


textile detail:

above: Twill fabric, fiberglass and resin, 56 x 29 1/2 x 25 in | 142.3 x 74.9 x 63.5 cm


Queen Chair:


Textile detail:


above: Twill fabric, fiberglass and resin, 38 1/2 x 34 x 27 in | 97.8 x 86.3 x 68.6 cm


Princess Chair:


textile detail:

above: Twill fabric, fiberglass and resin, 43 3/4 x 37 x 31 in | 111 x 94 x 79 cm

Porter Chairs:


above: twill fabric, fiberglass, resin, leather and metal studs, measurements unknown

Jessica is presently showing at Gallery Nine5:



Gallery Nine 5

About the artist:

photo by ©Sunnie Rizzolo

Jessica Lichtenstein, above, lives and works in New York City.

Using the female body as a mechanism to explore deeper themes of power, female representation, fetishism and objectification, usually in an ironic and cheerful way, Lichtenstein’s work embodies the very paradox she is trying to explore. Her work consciously plays with the boundaries of power, commercialization, consumerism, fantasy and propriety, provoking tensions that challenge the viewer to confront his or her own gaze.

Lichtenstein expands her media to include graphic design, 3D text sculptures, light boxes and fabric. The artist strives for the presentation of her work to echo her ideas – art should ultimately entertain. Lichtenstein reveals her playful nature with complex pieces that divulge their depth only with a closer look – a cherry tree image on a light box is actually a composite of X-rated sirens. The viewer is asked to re-examine the nature of enticement – are the accompanying phrases and speech bubbles amatory or garish? Each vignette in Lichtenstein’s installations is a slate upon which the viewer may consider his or her own notions of sexuality. (courtesy of Gallerynine5)

images courtesy of the artist
Jessica Lichtenstein

Ethnos Eames Chairs, Ornate Versions of the LCW in Bronze and Aluminum

Designer Paolo Giordano of Italy created limited editions of these stunning ornate cast bronze and aluminum versions of the mid-century modern classic LCW chairs as an homage to Ray & Charles Eames. The chairs have identical silhouettes to the original wood chairs but are intricately engraved bronze and aluminum versions.

Close-up look:

"The application of ethnic Indian decoration to modern design icons is at first sight provocative. It is the layering of ornamentation on pieces that originated precisely in the refusal of decoration; the uniting of thought and ideas that were historical opposites.

I believe, however, that these objects acquire a new identity as distinctive yet indefinable hybrids, somehow so coherent they make us forget the reasons of the separate initial gestures.

An example of how visual language leads its own spirited life." -- Paolo Giordano

cast aluminium chair
limited edition, 20 + 1 AP
68 x 56 x 61cm
Price £9,773.00
Buy it here



cast bronze chair
limited edition, 7 + 1 AP
68 x 56 x 61cm
Price £18,108.00
buy it here




Made in Italy for I and I
info@i-and-i.it

About designer Paolo Giordano:
Born in Naples 1954, he studied architecture at Milan Politecnico and graduated in 1978. He now lives and works in Milan.

In 1996, Paolo founded the I+I company, with the idea of producing a contemporary design collection for the home with products made by hand from different continents. Since then he continues to direct the I+I company from both a creative and commercial point of view. He also collaborates as an artistic consultant for Italian furniture companies (textile and accessories) and has participated in numerous international exhibitions.