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    Melding Craft and Sustainability, Richard Haining Sculpts Sleek Vessels from Reclaimed Wood

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    All images courtesy of Richard Haining, shared with permission

    Melding Craft and Sustainability, Richard Haining Sculpts Sleek Vessels from Reclaimed Wood

    April 11, 2025

    ArtCraftDesign

    Grace Ebert

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    Renewal is at the center of Richard Haining’s practice. The Brooklyn-based artist and designer (previously) sculpts supple vessels and functional goods from reclaimed wood sourced from local workshops or buildings destined for demolition. Intrigued by signs of wear and former uses, Haining has a deep reverence for the material and its history.

    In his ongoing STACKED series, small offcuts nest together in intuitively laid grids. An angle grinder and hand tools help to smooth any jagged edges and create the soft, sleek forms Haining is known for.

    The artist shares that his inspiration comes from a wide array of sources, “from Classical Antiquity to East Asian design (to) 17th-century European Craftsmanship.” His holy trinity, though, is beauty, craftsmanship, and mindfulness for the environment. He adds:

    By juxtaposing repurposed ‘low-value’ materials with ‘high-art’ forms, I invite viewers to reconsider what is truly valuable. Ultimately, I hope to spark a conversation about sustainability, showing that art, craftsmanship, and environmental responsibility can coexist—and that beauty can emerge from the most unexpected places.

    Haining is participating in two group exhibitions in New York, one at Lyle Gallery through April 20 and Paraphernalia Exhibition: Desire opening on May 7. Follow the latest on Instagram.

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      An Otherworldly Garden of Lights Emerges from Hemp and Resin by Ross Hansen

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      ‘Of Human Feelings’ installation view. All images courtesy of the artist and Volume Gallery, shared with permission

      An Otherworldly Garden of Lights Emerges from Hemp and Resin by Ross Hansen

      February 12, 2025

      ArtDesign

      Kate Mothes

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      Evoking marigolds, prairie clover, and milk thistle, Ross Hansen’s ongoing series of ethereal lighting fixtures dissect assumptions about design and function. The Los Angeles-based artist and designer’s unique sculptural forms combine hemp, bio-resin, and aluminum to create otherworldly floor lamps.

      Hansen draws on a background in landscape design, inspired by organic textures and forms found in nature. In his recent exhibition Of Human Feelings at Volume Gallery, clusters of lights resemble larger-than-life fungi or microscopic organisms. Strips of cloth are enrobed in plant-based resin for rigidity, and the illuminated bulbs diffuse within the fabric.

      Volume Gallery will present Hansen’s work at Felix Art Fair in Los Angeles next weekend. Find more on the artist’s website.

      Detail of “Milk Thistle”

      ‘Of Human Feelings’ installation view

      “Dalea” (2024), hemp, bio-resin, wood, epoxy resin, paint, and lighting components, 70 x 16 x 16 inches

      ‘Of Human Feelings’ installation view

      ‘Of Human Feelings’ installation view

      “Marigold” (2024), hemp, bio-resin, aluminum, and lighting components, 85 x 18 x 18 inches

      Detail of “Marigold”

      Base detail of “Dalea”

      “Milk Thistle” (2024), hemp, bio-resin, aluminum, and lighting components, 81 x 18 x 18 inches

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    • 150 Shares159 Views

      in Art

      Uncanny Objects by Joyce Lin Blur Distinctions Between Reality and the Fantastical

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      “Fir Mignon” (2023), wood, epoxy clay, oil paint, 8.75 x 8.75 x 3 inches. All images courtesy of Joyce Lin, shared with permission

      Uncanny Objects by Joyce Lin Blur Distinctions Between Reality and the Fantastical

      January 21, 2025

      ArtDesign

      Kate Mothes

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      Whether enclosed in clear acrylic or seemingly sliced from a single tree, Joyce Lin’s sculptures examine themes of interconnectedness and the Anthropocene, which describes our planet’s most recent epoch and the way humans significantly impact its ecosystems and climate.

      “I am both disturbed and captivated by the paradoxes of industrialized society,” Lin says in a statement, “where modes of production and disposal are often obscured to the public, yet people have more technology than ever to make their imagined worlds a reality.”

      “Wood Chair in Fir” (2024), oil paint, epoxy clay, plywood, MDF, and wood, 16.5 x 16.25 x 34.75 inches

      Lin’s uncanny pieces meld form and function, taking the recognizable shapes of furniture and food and transforming them into playful meditations on mass production and consumption. She often uses organic materials like wood, augmenting the surfaces with synthetic mediums like epoxy, resin, and oil paint to preserve their appearance in perpetuity. Some works, like the Wooden Chair series, are entirely composed of engineered materials.

      “I love to dissect and understand things, and my works often feature objects—usually a chair—sliced open to expose an inner structure; to express an inner truth, so to speak,” Lin tells Colossal. She manipulates the structures extensively, blurring the reality of what she describes as the “insides” and the “outsides,” so the composition takes on a fantastical quality.

      “I don’t think they’re so convincing when you really zoom in, so it’s interesting to see people assume they’re somehow grown or AI-generated, even though they take an incredible amount of manual labor and time to create,” Linn adds. “I often think about distortions in our perception of reality, (which is) probably why people keep sending me those is-it-cake videos.”

      The artist is currently working toward a solo exhibition later this year at R & Company, and you can explore more on her website and Instagram.

      “Exploded Chair” (2019), maple and acrylic, 16 x 16 x 35 inches

      “Woodnanas” (2024) wood, steel, polyester resin, and epoxy clay

      “Wood Chair in Ash” (2024), oil paint, epoxy clay, plywood, MDF, and wood. Beetles: epoxy, wire, 16.5 x 16.25 x 34.75 inches

      Detail of “Wood Chair in Ash”

      “Root Chair” (2023), found driftwood and walnut stain, 29 x 30 x 34 inches

      “Wood Stool”

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