Gold Ore 5-panel painting to debut at Architectural Digest Design Show
Miami, Florida, February 18, 2016—This March, a unique interior design collection created by famed Miami artist Cristina Lei Rodriguez, in partnership with specialist producers EDGE Collections (Exceptional Design Goes Everywhere), debuts at the 2016 Architectural Digest Design Show in New York. Cristina Lei Rodriguez began her career showing multimedia sculptures that mimicked fantastical gardens and Baroque landscapes at Miami’s top artist run spaces. This soon led to solo exhibitions at renowned international galleries Emmanuel Perrotin, Team Gallery and Fred Snitzer. Always incorporating a life-size utilitarian component to her work, it was a natural progression for Rodriguez to focus her eye on design—and so began her partnership with the Miami production team EDGE Collections. A unique artist-centric approach combined with high-end custom production capabilities quickly led to museum exhibitions as well as a major 2015 Art Basel Miami Beach Sotheby’s collaboration. Now after two prosperous years the team are tackling New York with Cristina Lei Rodriguez x EDGE Collections, an immersive design installation in solo booth #M509 as part of MADE, a curated section focused on independent design at the Architectural Digest Design Show—the premiere luxury design trade fair at Pier 92 & 94 from March 17- 20, 2016.
Cristina Lei Rodriguez was born in Miami, Florida to a Japanese American Hawaiian- born mother and Cuban father. After graduating she became known for her distinct fantastical foliage-like sculptures that compiled resin, glitter, found materials and more in to lavish objects and environments. These works both critique and celebrate the inherent political attributes of pleasurable aesthetics such as shine and glamour while depicting elements of the natural world. Rodriguez carried her affinity for shine and the Baroque to “natural” designs. The methods of printing used by EDGE collections, with whom she has partnered since 2014, were a perfect fit. Not only are EDGE Collections able to achieve unsurpassed shimmering metallic effects, their process also considers the environment using VOC toxin-free ink—an important consideration for Rodriguez whose work carries a conscientious undertone, purposefully mimicking real-life natural phenomena using artificial materials.
First shown at the Bass Museum of Art in 2015 as part of the “Gold” exhibition, the Cristina Lei Rodriguez x EDGE Collection designs were spotted by Sotheby’s resulting in major showcase at Miami’s 1 Hotel penthouse during the 2015 Art Basel Miami Beach art fair in partnership with the auction house. The installation included panel paintings, wallpapers and handmade furniture displaying Rodriguez’s penchant for transforming interior spaces in to delightfully titillating sensorial environments. Sotheby’s Senior Vice President, Maria Bonta de la Pezuela comments:
We were thrilled to showcase Cristina’s work. I've been a fan of hers for about 15 years—since I first met her in Miami.
Selected for MADE, the curated independent design section of the 2016 Architectural Digest Design, Cristina Lei Rodriguez x EDGE Collections solo booth will feature a five panel shimmering Gold Ore painting, a series of smaller color tone paintings, handmade sculptural stools and benches, custom fabric and wallpaper designs as well as never before seen lighting designs created for New York. The booth design is described by Cristina Lei Rodriguez as ”a transformative and seductive space that invites interaction.” Her signature creative style, EDGE Collections expert production, and wallpaper that can be scaled and installed specifically to the measurements of almost any space has resulted in a design series that is already highly sought after by collectors and curators alike. Bass Museum of Art curator Jose Diaz who worked with the team on the “Gold” exhibition among others shares:
Cristina Lei Rodriguez x Edge Collections is earmarked as the new emerging design series to watch. Their artistic ingenuity means that their pieces function simultaneously as artworks and furniture and also tastefully express the kind of glamour and glitz we all hope to live in, and with.
Cristina Lei Rodriguez x EDGE Collections Booth: #M509
Architectural Digest Design Show
Pier 92 & 94, New York City
March 17- 20, 2016
For images or purchase details please contact Adriana Vergara
+1 786-301-2646
adriana@adrianavergara.com
About Cristina Lei Rodriguez
Cristina Lei Rodriguez (1974) lives and works in Miami, FL. She received her BA from Middlebury College in 1996, and MFA from California College of Art in 2002. The objects Rodriguez creates are abstract sculptures, made from common materials that are given a new intangible life. Her work is organic and minimalist, yet pristinely finished; echoing a tension between the natural and the artificial. Her art has been exhibited internationally at the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art (Oslo), Serpentine Gallery (London), Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin (Paris, Miami), Team Gallery and Deitch Projects (both New York). Her work has been reviewed by Modern Painters, The New York Times, Financial Times, Wallpaper, The New Yorker and Arte al Día International. In Miami, Rodriguez's work is included in the permanent collections of PAMM, de la Cruz Collection, Bass Museum of Art, and the Rubell Family Collection. www.cristinaleirodriguez.com
About EDGE Collections
EDGE Collections, founded in 2009 by Carl Pascuzzi and Phoebe St. Germain Fellows, is a Miami-based design and manufacturing house that specializes in large-format production of custom wallpapers, tiles, and textiles. EDGE works with architects and designers to produce projects for upscale residences, hospitality, museums and private collections. Their list of collaborations includes Hotel Shangri-La, Rockwell Group, Gensler, Starwood Brand, Van Cleef & Arpels, Neiman Marcus, Google, Fiat North America, and various architects, designers, and tastemakers. EDGE has been invited to participate in the Venice Design Biennale during the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale. www.edge-collections.com
About Cristina Lei Rodriguez and Edge Collections Collaboration
EDGE announced its ongoing design collaboration with contemporary artist Cristina Lei Rodriguez in 2014. Projects have been commissioned by institutions such as The Bass Museum of Art, The Neuberger Museum of Art, Brooklyn Academy of Music and The Institute of Contemporary Art. A line of wall-coverings, Cristina Lei Rodriguez + EDGE Collections features four distinct wallpapers inspired by the one of a kind, site specific installations. The collections four wallpaper options are titled Gold Ore, Terrain,
Plated, and Prismatic.
About Architectural Digest Design Show
The 15th annual Architectural Digest Design Show, held from March 17–20 at Pier 92 & 94 in New York City, showcases the best in the design and luxury market. The four-day fair features more than 400 premium brands and covers a range of categories, including: furniture, accessories, art, kitchen and bath products, flooring, rugs, carpets, electronics, ceramics, stone + tile, wall covering, lighting, outdoor products, building products, and more. From product launches, theater programming, and special events, the show is a must-attend for the industry’s top professionals and discerning consumers. It is free to design trade who pre-register online. The on-site ticket fee for trade is $30. General (consumer) admission is $30 online and $40 at the door. Ticket price includes full access to the exhibit hall, DIFFA’S DINING BY DESIGN table viewing (co-located at Pier 92),
ADDS Café + Lounge, Theater, and many more daily special events. A portion of the proceeds of all ticket sales benefits DIFFA Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. The Architectural Digest Design Show is produced by Vornado/The Mart (MMPI), hosted by Architectural Digest and co-sponsored by The New York Times. www.ADDesignShow.com