toland grinnell. his signature luxury trunks, in the spirit of louis vuitton, fold out into adult furniture fantasies, all hand crafted by the artist ....................
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toland grinnel true luxury galleria cardi & co, milan, italy february 13 - march 30, 2002 http://www.galleriacardi.com in collaboration with galleria gian enzo sperone, new york http://www.speronewestwater.com true luxury was conceived by new york artist toland grinnel, whose obsessively elaborate sculptures confront the nature of desire and the power of excess. his signature luxury trunks, in the spirit of louis vuitton, fold out into intricate adult furniture fantasies, all hand crafted by the artist. the centerpiece of the show is pied-a-terre, an installation of more than 30 matching trunks, each of which performs an essential household role. with a silken tent, fully operational pneumatic shower, wood - burning fireplace and dog spa, grinnel has created a theoretically mobile apartment for two - a camping set fit for the multi-millionaire who has no desire to ever sleep outdoors. sumptous, sophisticated and fun, this exhibition marks the european solo debut of this young american artist. questions db: 'did you ever think you’d be an architect?' toland: 'no, I really grew up with people who victimize architects. it’s only recently that I’ve considered that my work might parlay itself into architecture.' db: 'true luxury ?' toland: 'my art dealer said, make something big and don’t worry about what it costs. the title of the piece is pied-a-terre. I wanted to create an apartment that could be moved. the icebox works, the stove runs, the shower runs, you can use the toilet. no one will ever use this camping set, but it all functions... it’s interesting to look back a little further at the tradition of fantastic transportable luxuries. by the late 1400s, there was already a lot of travel around europe by merchants and aristocrats. so if it took three weeks to get from florence to paris, you really needed to bring your bathtub and bedding because there was no alternative.' db: ' we are curious about your logo. it really places you in the world of louis vuitton and gucci. are you saying that the work mimics the way gucci markets itself? or is it also about the contemporary artists as a modern brand?' toland: 'obviously many brands have made great use of their logo – the logo is just an integral part of doing business. the logo suggests that these pieces are part of a manufacturing process. I’m not taking a sharpie magic marker and signing the edge of a box. this is a gold-plated, cast brass logo.' --- toland grinnell biography --- born in brooklyn, ny, 1969 lives in new york. --- education 1994 B.A., school of visual arts, new york 1993 centro lorenzo de medici, llorence, italy --- one person exhibition 2000 'trunk show,' visionaire, new york 1998 'solid,' basilico fine arts, new york 1996 'gateway to eternity,' basilico fine arts at the gramercy international art fair, new york 1995 'booty,' basilico fine arts, new york --- group exhibition 2000 'american bricolage,'sperone westwater, new york 'hand-made in the USA,' sprovieri, london ''da warhol al 2000' - gian enzo sperone, turin 'greater new york,' P.S. 1 museum institute for contemporary art, new york 'toys,' kagan martos gallery, new york --- ------- monthly designboom newsletter ------- ------- ? comments and contact us ? -------	'kiss my mother fucking middle finger', 2001 tent of the 'pied-a-terre', 2001 wood burning fireplace wc shower washing basin dog's spa mineral water reserve