Trees in Oolite is the inaugural design show in the courtyard of Gallery Diet’s new space. For the first outdoor-design exhibition in the gallery’s history, eight designers and artists present an assortment of outdoor furniture, lighting, and design elements. Set within a Floridian landscape that includes mango, oak, and avocado trees, these objects complement the subtropical flora with a pared, decisive brutalism.
Trees in Oolite utilizes the unique architecture of Gallery Diet’s new home. Set in a compound of 1940s-era buildings that once housed domestic residences as well as a Haitian church, the gallery surrounds a secluded garden. Taking over this hidden green space, Trees in Oolite asks us to reconsider how we implement the principles of design when living in a city as lush and overgrown as Miami. Providing a scenography of the show,Emmett Moore will paint the buildings which have yet to be renovated in raucous swaths of color.
For the exhibition, designers and artists are unified in their response to both the history of modern design and the primeval Floridian environment seeping through the architecture. With the exception of Katie Stout’s bench and chair, which emits a handmade, decoupage aura, the works are rooted in industrial production just as much as they are made for tropical leisure. The objects range from the traditional, such as Jonathan Nesci stainless steel bench, or Snarkitecture’s illuminated side table made of solid travertine marble, to the more idiosyncratic.Jonathan Gonzalez has designed monumentally scaled towel racks. Jim Drain contributes lawn chairs that connect to a garden hose, allowing the water to cool the metal armature, and spray out onto the body of the sitter.Mimi Jung presents an intricately woven sculptural object that borrows the look and relaxed con- notations of the backyard hammock. June14 has constructed a transparent sauna, putting the steamy heat and humidity of the Miami atmosphere on display. During the exhibition run, guests can schedule appointments to use the sauna during gallery hours.
Participants list: Jim Drain, June14, Mimi Jung, Emmett Moore, Jonathan Gonzalez/Office GA, Jonathan Nesci, Snarkitecture, Katie Stout.
Gallery Diet is a contemporary art space in Miami, Florida. Since 2007, the gallery has produced exhibitions by emerging and established artists from around the world. The gallery works alongside artists to produce ambitious projects both within the confines of the gallery space and beyond.
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