Various Artists
Under / Over (East) w/ PlantPaper
November 13 – December 31 2021
106 Eldridge Street
New York, NY 10002
Participating artists and designers: Simone Bodmer-Turner, Sarah Burns, Axelle Dechelette, Joel Evey, Ian Felton, Joey Frank, Miles Huston, Jaye Kim, Minjae Kim, Samuel Marion, Frederik Nystrup-Larsen & Oliver Sundqvist (Off License – Cash Only), Eric Oglander, Nifemi Ogunro, Ellen Pong, Isabel Rower, Alan Ruiz, Emily Schubert, John Sohn, Sam Stewart, Brendan Timmins, Ellen Van Dusen (Dusen Dusen), Natalie Weinberger, Dena Yago.
Marta, PlantPaper, and guest curator Emmanuel Olunkwa are pleased to host Under / Over (East), a group exhibition of Toilet Paper Holders hosted across several locations in New York City from November 13 – December 31, 2021. As a natural extension of Under / Over, this east coast iteration will be installed in several restrooms of note throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, as well as centrally-staged in a forward-facing, public exhibition venue in Manhattan’s Chinatown. In tandem, the exhibition’s website—just below—is meant to act as both a collector’s resource and casual walking guide that can be used to locate individual Holders that have been matched with or installed in the restrooms of area vendors, eateries, and institutions: Café Forgot, Emma Scully Gallery, FOOD New York, The Freehand Hotel, Lichen, Lil’ Deb’s Oasis (Hudson, NY), Matter, Picture Room, Planet Earth LLC (New Haven, CT), Public Records, Real Pain, Sky Ting Yoga, The Smile, and Teranga at The Africa Center.
In developing and distributing tree-free, toxin-free toilet paper, PlantPaper has become intimate with the devices that dispense their product, and has noted a lack of considered design in this niche but familiar touchpoint of the bathroom landscape. A recent graduate of the prestigious GSAPP program at Columbia University and newly-appointed to the position of Editor at architecture and design magazine Pin-Up, Emmanuel Olunkwa is a Los Angeles-born designer and editor whose guest curation has resulted in a diverse group of practices and participants from New York City and beyond. The result is a joyfully ambulatory exhibition that merges function and delight, prizing a seemingly humble piece of hardware that we invariably interact with every day.
Made available to the general public via the exhibition, we hope these functional works find their way into homes, studios, offices, and businesses, perhaps prompting a subtle shift in this particular paradigm.
Download the Works List.
Download the Press Release.
View press coverage of the exhibition on PIN-UP, Sight Unseen, and Wallpaper*.
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PlantPaper
at Real Pain
30 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002
PlantPaper
at Planet Earth, LLC
15 Hickory Road
Woodbridge, CT 06525
Simone Bodmer-Turner
Toilet Paper Holder I & II, 2021
Ceramic
8.5 W × 8.0 D × 6.0 H in.
Edition of Two
Sarah Burns
TPH 001, 2021
Blackened Steel, Lacquer, Powdercoat
9.5 W × 4.5 D × 4.0 H in.
Edition of Two
Sarah Burns, TPH 001
Axelle Dechelette
Andie (Peel 1), 2021
Brushed Stainless Steel
4.5 W × 4.5 D × 12.0 H in.
Edition of 10
Joel Evey
Readymade, 2021
Stainless Steel, Bracket
2.0 W × 6.0 D × 10.0 H in.
Edition of Two
Ian Felton
Butter My Buns and Call Me A Biscuit, 2021
White Oak
12.0 W × 9.0 D × 13.0 H in.
Edition of Two
Joey Frank
Open for Cylinder, 2021
Real Pain W / C
Joey Frank
at Real Pain
30 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002
Joey Frank
Open for Cylinder, 2021
PLA, Acrylic Plastic, Paint, Plywood
9.0 W × 10.0 D × 8.0 H in.
Edition of 6
Joey Frank
Ambassador, 2021
Acrylic Mirror, Laminated Laser Print, Chromed Pipe, Plywood, Hinge
9.0 W × 10.0 D × 8.0 H in.
Unique
Miles Huston
Yale Sculpture Department, 2009 / 2021
Wood, Brass, T.P. Holder from the Bathroom of the then-Head of the Sculpture Department at Yale University School of Art’s Hammond Hall (Built 1904, Demolished 2009), with the price of the work commensurate to the remaining dollar-amount of loans owed by the artist at the date of the exhibition's opening: $46,895.67, or some meaningful contribution there-towards.
11.0 W × 5.5 D × 9.0 H in.
Unique
Jaye Kim
Sanctuary (Blue), 2021
Ceramic, Branch
11.0 W × 5.5 D × 10.0 H in.
Unique
Minjae Kim
Brown Box, 2021
Lacquered Wood, Hardware
7.0 W × 7.25 D × 10.0 H in.
Unique
Samuel Marion
Wiffle Ball and Chain (Open Relationship), 2021
Mirrored Aluminum, Steel Chain
5.5 W × 5.0 D × 10.0 H in.
Edition of Two
Frederik Nystrup-Larsen & Oliver Sundqvist
Designer Handbag Calf Skin, 2021
Upcycled Paper Trash, Acrylic Paint, Varnish, Metal Chain
13.0 W × 10.0 D × 28.0 H in.
Unique
Eric Oglander
Fiber, 2021
Wood, Epoxy, String, Metal, Magnets
13.25 W × 6.0 D × 2.25 H in.
Edition of Two
Eric Oglander at Lichen NYC
Nifemi Ogunro
Reth, 2021
Wood, Paint
9.75 W × 8.5 D × 8.5 H in.
Edition of Four
Ellen Pong
No. 1 As Tragedy; No. 2 As Farce, 2021
Epoxy Clay, Paint, Glass, Metal, Break-Glass Hammer
4.5 W × 3.0 D × 6.0 H in.
Each Unique
Isabel Rower
Venus’ Flower Basket, 2021
Porcelain Polyurethane
10.0 W × 11.0 D × 7.0 H in.
Edition of Two
Alan Ruiz
Hole Extrusion, 2021
Aluminum Hardware
6.0 W × 6.0 D × 3.0 H in.
Edition of Two
Emily Schubert
Untitled, 2021
Wood, Stainless steel, Urethane, Epoxy Resin
9.0 W × 8.0 D × 13.0 H in.
Edition of Two
John Sohn
Pillow for Toilet Paper, 2021
PVC, Goose Down, Acrylic, Steel Hardware, Nylon Thread
10.0 W × 4.5 D × 10.5 H in.
Edition of Two
John Sohn
at Sky Ting Yoga
17 Allen Street #7
New York, NY 10002
Sam Stewart
Spool, 2021
Wood, Paint, Steel
6.75 W × 5.75 D × 5.0 H in.
Edition of Two
Brendan Timmins
Alone Time Media Console, #2, 2021
Pine, Paint, Screws
11.5 W × 7.5 D × 13.0 H in.
Edition of Two
Ellen Van Dusen
Behind the Curtain, 2021
Wood Box, Chopstick, Fabric, Ribbon, Acrylic Paint
5.0 W × 5.0 D × 5.0 H in.
Edition of Two
Natalie Weinberger
Group of Cylinders, 2021
White stoneware, Glaze, Wood, Wire
12.0 W × 5.5 D × 5.5 H in.
Edition of Three
Dena Yago
Inside, 2021
Leather, Steel, Aluminum, Plastic, Wood
11.5 W × 0.5 D × 20.0 H in.
Unique
Dena Yago
Outside, 2021
Leather, Steel, Aluminum, Plastic, Wood
11.5 W × 0.5 D × 20.0 H in.
Unique
Photographs by Scott Barry for PlantPaper and Marta, Los Angeles.
Installation assistance by Sebastijan Jemec.
Many thanks to Miles Huston, Joshua Solomon, Ri Xin Store.
Marta is a Los Angeles-based, globally-engaged art gallery. Founded in 2019, the gallery makes space for artists to experiment with the utility of design, and for designers to explore the abandonment of function. Marta’s curatorial and publication programs take interest in the process of a work’s creation as well the narrative of its creator(s). Marta embraces the intersection of and the transition between disciplines, advocates for diversity in design, and promotes broad access to the arts.