“I’ve been drawing furniture for the last 10 years,” confesses the artist Josh Sperling, best known for his supersize wall-mounted installations of canvas-stretched spirals and squiggles. “I just haven’t been making it.” Until now, that is. A 19-month gap between two shows afforded him the time to give those sketches a little more thought—and to outfit his Ithaca, New York, studio fora new kind of making. The results? A series of 26 benches sheathed in vibrant Maharam wool that just debuted as part of his solo show at Paradise Art Space in Incheon, South Korea.
The seats serve as functional counterparts to his 150-foot mural, the hand-painted elements of which wrap the circular gallery space. “The pieces all reference or take verbatim shapes from my art practice,” explains Sperling, who recently made a wiggly cherry wood dresser reminiscent of a 2015 painting. It’s exciting fresh terrain for the artist, who comes from three generations of woodworkers. He now plans to split his practice 50-50 into making art and furniture. “The constraints of design felt limiting in the past,” he admits. “But now I’m leaning into it.” joshsperling.com —Hannah Martin
Entertaining: Douglas Friedman and Lobmeyr collaborate on a limited-edition tableware line, available at Abask
Since laying roots in Marfa, Texas, Douglas Friedman has developed a taste for Southwestern style. Now, the globe-trotting photographer (and regular AD contributor) has collaborated with the heritage Viennese glassmaker Lobmeyr on a limited-edition tableware line for Abask. Cowboy boots, cacti, coiled rattlesnakes, and more motifs tip their hat to the Lone Star State. abask.com —Hannah Martin
Reading: A new book revisits Wharton Esherick’s life at home in Pennsylvania
