“Power of Placement III” June 3 – 24, 2023

For the month of June we have curated vignettes of vintage Mid-Century Modern furniture with selected artworks by gallery artists.  The separate seating and living areas, featuring vintage Danish furniture, are enhanced by each artwork selection and mood.

Through the exhibition we show how specific installations can change how we experience the artwork.  We embrace a specific lifestyle, one devoted to living with carefully designed pieces of furniture that are geometric, sleek and ultimately utilitarian.  We are not “matching” art with furniture, rather, promoting a way of life devoted to art and individuality.

Our main seating area features 2 of Jonathan Forrest‘s recent bold abstract paintings and Susan Dobson‘s “Under The Surface” serene lake photograph.  The subtlety and atmospheric aspect of both artworks creates a restful place where you can relax on the super comfortable Illum Wikkelso Model ML – 90 Sofa.  The sleek design and minimalist teak base looks like the sofa floats.   We have paired the sofa with two 1950s electric blue Lounge Chairs and Grete Jalk’s Teak Surfboard Coffee Table.  Though not for everyday use, Gathie Falk‘s clay sculpture “Checkerboard With Moths” is a cheeky nod to time spent together with friends.

We play with texture and abstraction with the artworks hanging above H.P Hansen’s Danish Teak Sideboard.  David Urban‘s “Untitled” abstract from 1998 is gritty and thick with empasto.   His line and colours are complimented by Mark Dicey‘s “2630-I-21” abstract, a blend of both geometric abstraction, gesture and pattern.  The materiality and texture of Ed Zelenak‘s sculpted “Arc with 360” is both elegant and unrefined in its contrasting mediums.

Dorothy Knowles’ classic 1965 Prairie landscape is paired with a sleek Arne Vodder Model FD 161 Armchair and Rolf Hesland Teak Rolling Magazine Rack.  A rare painting from the mid-1960s, “The Green Fields Series: Blue Distance” represents the development of her signature style.  In 1962 both Knowles and her husband William Perehudoff met Clement Greenberg at the Emma Lake Workshop.  Greenberg influenced Knowles to paint monumental canvases that represented the landscape literally, but still nodded to abstraction.  At this time, Knowles started to use thin oil washes, similar to a watercolour painting.  This painting represents the broad Prairie landscape that Knowles is known for in an elegant and understated way.

Two intimate seating areas are accompanied by Gathie Falk’s “35 Lightbulbs” and Michael Pszczonak’s “Backyard” paintings.   Gathie Falk‘s “35 Lightbulbs” is paired with a leather Danish Beechwood Lounge Chair.  Her presentation of repeated symbols is reinforced with the 1993 Lightbulb painting, where she takes the humble light bulb and paints them in a pattern that is reminiscent of a night sky full of stars.  Michael Pszczonak‘s “Backyard” continues his interest in the spatial overlay that occurs when looking in and out of windows, during the day and at night.  The textures and exuberant brushwork couple perfectly with Verner Panton’s System 1-2-3 Lounge Chair Deluxe.

Through his stunning tondo “Mantle”, Michael Smith investigates the relationship between image and abstraction.  Inspired by a 1972 trip to southern France where he discovered a hidden entrance to ancient Paleolithic caves, “Mantle” specifically explores the entrances and passageways exiting the caves.  The round shape is reinforced with Jan Kuypers Solid Afromosia Round Coffee Table and the energetic colours by Carl Edward Matthes’ Model 33 “Goldenrod” Lounge Chair.  Tony Urquhart’s “box” sculpture “Picturesque Object (Irish Hill)” is also influenced by time spent in Europe.  At the time of making “(Irish Hill)”, Urquhart was in residence at a restored famine cottage on the most westerly and most windy point of Ireland.  His love of Ireland and the rustic and persistent weather inspired his sculpture, a landscape that is both beautiful and ugly, lush and raw.

Both furniture and art in this exhibition are for sale.  Please contact the gallery 519.439.0451 or email HERE for pricing & availability.

Featured MCM Furniture:

Jan Kuypers Solid Afromosia Round Coffee Table 
Fully Restored, Afromosia Wood (African Teak)
Jan Kuypers for Imperial Furniture Stratford, c. 1960s
39 W x 39 D x 16 H inches

Carl Edward Matthes Model 33 Lounge Chair
Teak + “Goldenrod” Maraham Upholstery, Excellent Restored Condition
Made in Denmark, c. 1960s
29 W x 28 D x 26 H inches

H.P. Hansen Danish Modern Teak Sideboard
Teak & Steel Door Pulls
Excellent Condition. Fully Refinished
93 W x 19 D x 32 ½ H inches

Verner Panton System 1-2-3 Lounge Chair Deluxe
Aluminium (Vintage Condition), New Upholstery
Made in Denmark by Verner Panton for Fritz Hansen, c. 1970
30 D x 23 ½ W x 33 H inches

Illum Wikkelso Model ML – 90 Sofa
Oak, New Wool Fabric
Made in Demark for A. Mikael Laursen, c. 1960s
82 W x 31 ½ D x 31 H inches

Grete Jalk Teak Surfboard Coffee Table
Teak, Excellent Vintage Condition
Made in Denmark, c. 1960s
63 W x 23 D x 17 ½ H inches

Pair of 1950s Blue Lounge Chairs
New Wool Fabric & Padding
Made in Sweden, c. 1950s
Each 25 W x 25 D x 30 H inches

Arne Vodder Armchair Model FD 161
Beech, Teak, Fabric Upholstery
Made in Denmark for France & Daverkosen, c. 1950s
32 D x 29 W x 30 H inches

Rolf Hesland Teak Rolling Magazine Rack
Teak, Casters, Fully Refinished
Made in Norway for Bruskbo, c. 1960s
27 W x 14 D x 17 H inches

Beechwood Lounge Chair 
Beechwood, Leather, Excellent Vintage Condition
Made in Denmark, c. 1960s
28 W x 24 D x 26 H inches