‘Built In’ at the Neutra VDL House
September 18 – November 07 2021
The director of the Neutra VDL House in tandem with co-curators Erik Benjamins and Marta are pleased to have presented ‘Built In’, a group exhibition of site-specific works from 32 Los Angeles-area creative practices. Participating artists, designers, architects, and practitioners include A History of Frogs, Brody Albert, BC, Charlap Hyman & Herrero, Misa Chhan, Jeremiah Chiu, Fiona Connor, Emily Endo, Escher GuneWardena, Andrew Thomas Huang, Nancy Kwon, L.A. Door, Lakes, Jason Lipeles & Janet Solval, New Documents, Kyoko Oshiro, PapiBoyBabyBoy, Mina Park & Kwang Uh, Emma T. Price, Alex Reed, Rest Objects, Candice & Darren Romanelli, Nancy Stella Soto, Stock-A-Studio, Arden Surdam, Terremoto, Three Sheep & Bob Dornberger, and TOLO Architecture.
Exhibition Catalog available Here.
Editions from artists Fiona Connor and Arden Surdam available Here.
Download the Press Release.
View press coverage of the exhibition on Carla, Cereal, Wallpaper*, Dezeen, Metropolis, Dispatches, KCRW, and Curbed.
Neutra VDL is pleased to welcome visitors back to the house on behalf of Built In, a group exhibition of newly-created, site-specific works that richly engage the built-in architectural and historic elements of the VDL House (1932 / 1965). Showcasing work by 32 artists, designers, architects, and creative practitioners, 'Built In' celebrates the possibilities inherent to residential programming by inviting exhibition participants to dialogue with various structures intrinsic to the residence.
Built-ins are the unmoving opposites of freestanding furniture. Designed as permanent elements of the interior architecture of a home, they whisper of both universal and personalized programmatic intention long after their moveable siblings have been swapped-out, updated, or relegated to storage. Invitations to respond to these sites and phenomena that elegantly punctuate the VDL House have prompted a collection of alternately present and receding works, variously arranged among, sensitive towards, fitted atop, responsive to, informed by, encased in, suspended from, and rested upon these built-ins.
To honor the unique challenges and privileges of place-specific artistic response, the curators have invited participants within and around the Los Angeles area. While this cohort is unified by geography, they represent a staggeringly diverse array of creative practices and aesthetic languages. The resulting works celebrate the built-in as a generative platform for creative response in ways that are materially and spatially-aware, sensorially-engaged, functional, and poetic.
'Built In' is organized by artist and writer Erik Benjamins in tandem with art and design gallery Marta, each of whom have long valued and explored domestic spaces, objects, and rhythms within their respective practices. They are thrilled to work closely with VDL Director Noam Saragosti, who began his first year of stewardship at the onset of the Covid–19 pandemic. This exhibition will be the first that is viewable in-person after over a year-long hiatus.
Floor 1
1 A History of Frogs
2 BC
3 Emily Endo
4 Escher GuneWardena
5 PapiBoyBabyBoy
6 Candice & Darren Romanelli
7 Terremoto
8 Three Sheep & Bob Dornberger
9 TOLO Architecture
A History of Frogs
bug-egg-eye-ear, 2021
Aluminum, Steel, Brass bell
Dimensions Variable
Open Edition, Unique Bell
BC
VDL Scent Diffuser, 2021
Chrome-plated Hall-Mack fixture, Sandstone, Custom fragrance
6.5 × 2.4 × 7.5 in (Housing)
4.0 × 3.0 × 2.25 in (Vial and Rock)
Edition of Two
Emily Endo
Nature Near (Floor 1), 2021
Aluminum, Elm Leaves, White Stone
Cast glass, Ethyl alcohol, Aroma molecules, Essential oil, Hydro-distilled vetiver roots
15.0 × 15.0 × 7.5 in (Vessel)
Unique Vessel
Open Edition Scent
Escher GuneWardena
Tokonoma for the Neutra VDL House, 2021
Pine Plywood, Pine Post, Metallic Paint; Ikebana
75.75 × 38.25 × 6.0 in
Edition of Five
PapiBoyBabyBoy
Flipped Flipper Numbers, 2021
Ceramic, Steel, Hardware, Acrylic
48.0 × 1.5 × 17.0 in
Open Edition
Candice Romanelli (Ceramics)
Darren Romanelli (Plantings)
Cambell’s (Vessels 1 – 11), 2021
Highfire stoneware ceramic, Plantings (Cycads)
Dimensions Variable
Terremoto
Wild Thing, 2021
Concrete, Leaf litter, Bark
Installation, 197.0 × 102.0 × 12.0 in
Vessels, ea. 18.0 × 18.0 × 4.0 in
Edition of Twelve Vessels
Three Sheep & Bob Dornberger
Heron, 2021
Mixed wood, Brass, Copper, Agave fiberglass, Brass beads, Horsehair
14.0 × 14.0 × 20.0 in
Edition of Eight
TOLO Architecture
The Frank Lucian Neutra Memorial Bench, 2021
Plywood, Laminate
55.0 × 19.0 × 19.0 in
Floor 2
10 Brody Albert
11 BC
12 Charlap Hyman & Herrero
13 Fiona Connor
14 Emily Endo
15 Andrew Thomas Huang
16 Nancy Kwon
17 L.A. Door
18 Lakes
19 Jason Lipeles & Janet Solval
20 Jason Lipeles & Janet Solval
21 New Documents
22 Kyoko Oshiro
23 Mina Park & Kwang Uh
24 Alex Reed
25 Rest Objects
26 Candice & Darren Romanelli
27 Nancy Stella Soto
28 Stock-A-Studio
Brody Albert
Elijah, 2021
Foam, Electronic components
26.0 × 26.0 × 5.0 in
BC
VDL Scent Diffuser, 2021
Chrome-plated Hall-Mack fixture, Sandstone, Custom fragrance
6.5 × 2.4 × 7.5 in (Housing)
4.0 × 3.0 × 2.25 in (Vial and Rock)
Edition of Two
Charlap Hyman & Herrero
Song of Saint James II, 2021
Shell, Polished stainless steel, Fountain components
19.0 × 14.0 × 43.5 in.
Fiona Connor
Studio Furniture (Neutra VDL), 2010 – Present
Plywood, Paint flakes and resin, Paint, Steel fittings
Dimensions Variable
Emily Endo
Life and Shape (Floor 2), 2021
Blonde Wood, Amber, Paper, Beeswax
Cast glass, Ethyl alcohol, Aroma molecules, Essential oil, Beeswax
9.0 × 9.0 × 7.5 in (Vessel)
Unique Vessel
Open Edition Scent
Andrew Thomas Huang
House Spells 1 – 3, 2021
Gel pen on paper, Wood frame
Each 6.0 × 9.0 in
Each 8.75 × 12.0 × 1.2 in (Framed)
Andrew Thomas Huang
House Spell 1, 2021
Andrew Thomas Huang
House Spell 3, 2021
Andrew Thomas Huang
House Spell 2, 2021
Nancy Kwon
Mountains, Water, 2021
Ceramic
107.5 × 10.75 × 11.0 in
L.A. Door
L.A. Lazy, 2021
Reclining rocker, Woven gingham linen, Painted cherry handle, Painted oak base
33.0 × 31.0 × 39.0 in
Lakes
Sheet Objects (Light, Stash Box, Vase), 2021
Aluminum, Glass light bulb, Light socket, Cloth-covered cord, Plastic plug
Each 2.0 × 6.0 × 9.5 in
Edition of Nine
Jason Lipeles & Janet Solval
Stack Piece (I Have Recurring Visions of Us), 2021
Inkjet print on cardstock
4.0 × 8.5 in.
Site-Specific Take-Away
Jason Lipeles & Janet Solval
Stack Piece (All Senses), 2021
Two bars of Dr. Bronner’s citrus-scented soap, Imbued with romance
3.5 × 2.0 × 2.5 in
New Documents
The Library of Mr. and Mrs. Neutra, 2021
Offset-printed Publication
8.4 × 12.1 × 0.4 in.
Edition of 500
New Documents
The Library of Mr. and Mrs. Neutra
Hardcover, Offset-Printed Publication
8.4 × 12.1 × 0.4 in., 112 pp.
Edition of 500
Available
Kyoko Oshiro
Ikebana, 2021
Florals, Neutra House vessels
Dimensions Variable
Mina Park & Kwang Uh
Untitled, 2021
Various ferments, Glass, Korean sea salt, Wood, Watercolor, Ink, Paper
Dimensions Variable
Mina Park and Kwang Uh
Pineapple Fermented Kimchi, 2021
Download Recipe
Alex Reed
Puzzle No. 3 (for Neutra VDL House), 2021
Poplar, MDF, Ceramic, Lacquer
47.0 × 42.0 × 13.0 in
Edition of 3 + 1AP, each with a unique ceramic inlay
The How-To Section
Woman’s Day, April 1947
Rest Objects
Untitled (Pill Boxes), 2021
14/20 Gold-filled sheet, .999 (Fine) Silver sheet
3.25 × 2.25 × 1.75 in (Hers)
2.375 × 2.5 x 3.0 in (His)
Candice Romanelli (Ceramics)
Darren Romanelli (Plantings)
Dodgers (Vessels 1 – 5), 2021
Highfire stoneware ceramic, Plantings (Ariocarpus)
Dimensions Variable
Nancy Stella Soto
Leisure Uniform, 2021
Cotton, Polyester thread, Polyester label
XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL
Stock-A-Studio
Long-Term Ladder, 2021
Wooden ladder, Stucco, Sand, Aluminum
21.0 × 5.5 × 60.0 in.
Edition of Five
Floor 3
29 Misa Chhan
30 Jeremiah Chiu
31 Emily Endo
32 Emma T. Price
33 Arden Surdam
Misa Chhan
Sky Dungeon, 2021
Silk, Rayon
Each Panel, 45.0 × 83.0 in.
Edition of Thirteen
Emily Endo
From Floor to Clouds (Floor 3), 2021
Mirror, Water, Aloe Leaves
Cast glass, Ethyl alcohol, Aroma molecules, Violet leaves
8.5 × 8.5 × 7.5 in (Vessel)
Unique Vessel
Open Edition Scent
Emma T. Price
Baguetti Bambino, 2021
Terra cotta baguettes, Wood, Silicone, Mirror, Aluminum channel, Box fan, Color-matched paint (‘Bambi’)
37.0 × 19.5 × 30.0 in
Arden Surdam
Doppelhaus, 2021
Archival Inkjet Print on Mounted Chromaroll Metallic Paper
68.0 × 24.25 in
Marta is a gallery that hosts works at the meeting points of art and design. Founded in Los Angeles in 2019, the gallery makes space for artists to experiment with the utility of design, and for designers to explore the occasional abandonment of function. Marta’s curatorial and publication programs take interest in both the process of an object’s creation as well the narrative of its creator(s). Marta embraces the intersection of disciplines, advocates for diversity in design, and promotes access to the arts.