The Voice of Things

January 24 – February 23, 2019

Demisch Danant is pleased to announce The Voice of Things, an exhibition about ways of seeing objects. What evokes one’s reaction or response? Is it the symbolic value of the object or the significance within the designer’s or artist’s oeuvre; or, is it simply the assemblages of pieces themselves that is most captivating?  Every collection is distinctive and the concert of ‘voices’ create another aesthetic experience depending where you place the works and how you approach them.

The exhibition takes the title from French writer Francis Ponge, and his book of poetry Le parti pris des choses, who was known for minutely examining everyday objects. “[Things] resonate all at once in a concert without monotony, and not without a certain delicacy.”

This exhibition examines how different ‘scenes’ or ‘works’ provoke or inform when presented in different contexts, settings, and within different groupings. The finishes, the material and palette play a large role too.  A salon style installation presents César’s works on paper, collected over time. Together, one can glimpse César’s intention or process developed over time; however, on their own the works portray a different story.  In The Voice of Things a Sheila Hicks Prayer Rug (1978) is paired with an early Navajo rug (1920s); a Pierre Guariche Daybed (1955) sits next to Jacques Dumond Game Table (1948).  Objects of a collection can co-exist together in random ensembles or calculated patterns; the placement is a delicate balance.