Brut Vessels

Date:
2023

Client:
Marta

Material:
Glass

Photo:
Erik Benjamins / Jonah Takagi

"The gallery is pleased to present Brut Vessels, a solo exhibition of new glass assemblies by Jonah Takagi. Borne of a series of residencies at Cirva (Le Centre International de Recherche sur le Verre et les Arts Plastiques) in Marseille, the works presented within are a rich amalgamation of polymathic exploration. Drawing on his background in industrial design, Takagi has developed a series of works predicated on the overlap of Environment (the architecture of Marseille), Methodology (the approach to and treatment of the material), and Fabrication (the techniques required to produce these vitric works).

Each assembly is the result of keen experimentation; the joy and frustration of trial and error, even failure. The five-year period that comprised Takagi’s cycle of occasional residencies began in 2017 with a focus on improvised molds built from a variety of found objects unique to Cirva. This ad hoc approach, almost painterly in its treatment of structure—a working principle often disallowed in conventional industrial design—later evolved into a more controlled experimentation inspired by the board-formed concrete of Le Corbusier’s Cité Radieuse (1947), as well as the distinct, often masonry-oriented, architectural narratives of France’s oldest city. These works, the originating Brut Vases, were further refined during the designer’s final residency in 2022, where he reimagined his glass structures as discrete compositions—vignettes that reflect his interest in suburban corporate architecture, and particularly its use of glazed façades.

Assemblies 1–8 are the distillation of Jonah’s years-long interrogation of glass; a slow burn (if you will) that represents a journey of perennial learning and constant refinement. Without prescription, the 2–3 forms that comprise each grouping are generally unified by color: earthy greens, algal in both tone and patina; timber browns; deep blues that turn to black like the varying depths of the sea. Each chromatic choice is reflective of the palette that characterizes a port city and its attendant structures: the tower and the wall, the mast and the dock. They coexist in the certainty of their own company, a trail of ships as they float in the harbor, waiting to set sail." - Marta