Massimo De Carlo gallery in London is happy to present a new collective exhibition that reflects on the notions of art and design through sculpture, and questions the boundary that lies in between these two fields. Home/Sculpture presents a variety of artworks that recall the home environment and at the same time pay homage to the concepts of ready-made art and object trouvé creating a transfer of the domestic meaning of the object to the sphere of the gallery, generating a virtuous circle that enhances the dialogue between high and low culture, intellectualism and voluntarism, critical theory and pop culture, idealism and everyday life. For the exhibition the gallery itself has been transformed into an aesthetical allegory that mimics the likes of a design or a furniture shop, highlighting the subtle symbolism of sculptures that are shaped as everyday objects.

The sculptures presented in this exhibition are made by a group of artists that all have different geographical and social backgrounds, and who work with different references and inspirations. Some works are enticingly raw, and are bound to awaken the viewer’s sensitivity, such as Rashid Johnson’s and Andra Ursuta’s art works: both artists often tackle identity and community related issues in their practice, here using sculpture as the medium to translate these issue into icons and embodiments of the social or inner conflicts of today. In her body of work Kaari Upson reflects upon the notion of displacement and propriety: the series of casts of found mattresses, rugs, and couch selected for this exhibition, with their worn out appearance seem to highlight and question the journey of the object itself.

Thomas Grünfeld’s minimalist and debonair choice of materials and shapes, which recall the Bauhaus designs, are here in contrast with the playful and colourful sofas created by Rob Pruitt, whose work, that is composed by a complex and meticulous series of vibrant and irreverent drawings, aesthetically challenges the conception of post-pop art. Josh Smith’s ceramic sculptures are crafty objects that one can imagine being on the shelves of a cabinet of wonders: food cans, soap bottles, masks, and other home appliances have been remodelled as unusual and inaccurate artisanal pottery.

Home/Sculpture at Massimo De Carlo gallery aims to invite the viewer to take part in the debate that surrounds the everlasting concept of the found object and how it is re-questioned in the realm of today’s art.

Thomas Grünfeld was born in 1956 in Leverkusen, Germany. He currently lives and works in Cologne, Germany. Thomas Grünfeld solo exhibitions include: Thomas Grünfeld- homey: works from 1981 to 2013, Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen, Germany (2013); Thomas Grünfeld- homey: works from 1981 to 2013, Villa Croce Museum of Contemporary art Genoa, Italy (ends May 2014). Group exhibitions include, among others: Two Collectors: Thomas Olbricht and Harald Falckenberg, Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany (2013); Celebration, Alex Mylona Museum, Athens Greece (2010); Tier-Perspektiven, Georg Kolbe Museum, Berlin (2009). Since 2004 Thomas Grünfeld has had a professorship for sculpture at the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf.

Rashid Johnson was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1977. He lives and works in New York. Rashid Johnson solo exhibitions include: Magic Numbers, George Economou Collection, Athens (2014); New Growth, Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver (2014); Rashid Johnson: Message to Our Folks, High Museum of Art, Atlanta (2012); Shelter, South London Gallery, London (2012).Group exhibitions include the Shanghai Biennale in 2012 and the Venice Biennale in 2011. His work is collected by prestigious institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. In 2012 he won the David C. Driskell prize.

Rob Pruitt was born in 1964 in Washington, D.C. Rob Pruitt lives and work in New York. Solo exhibitions include: Rob Pruitt: An American Folk Artist, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen (2013); History of the World, Kunstverein Freiburg (2012); Rob Pruitt, Dallas Contemporary, Dallas, (2011); The Andy Monument, Public Art Fund, New York, (2011); Davos Dilemma, American Academy in Rome, Rome (2008); Le Consortium, Dijon (2002). Rob Pruitt is the founder and organizer of the Rob Pruitt Annual Art Awards, an annual prize hosted by the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Josh Smith was born in Okinawa, Japan, in 1976; he was bought up in Tennessee and currently lives and works in New York. Solo exhibitions include The American Dream, The Brant Foundation, Greenwich (2011); Josh Smith, Centre d´Art Contemporain Genève, Geneva (2009); Josh Smith Books, Printed Matter, New York (2009); Hidden Darts, MUMOK, MuseumsQuartier, Vienna (2008), Sculpture Centre, New York (2005). Josh Smith has took part in group shows in institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Firstsite, Colchester; MOCA The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; The Sate Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg; Royal Academy of the Arts, London; Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo. Josh Smith took part in the Venice Biennale 54th edition in 2011.

Kaari Upson was born in San Bernardino, California, in 1972 and lives in Los Angeles. She has exhibited at the UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2007). Group shows include: Just Now, curated by Bert Kreuk, S|2 London; London ( 2014);Inner Journeys, Maison Particulière Art Centre, Brussels (2013); Transforming the Known, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague, Netherlands (2013); The Residue of Memory, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen (2012); American exuberance, Rubell Family Collection, Miami (2011); Nine Lives, curated by Ali Subotnik, at the Hammer Museum in California (2009); Sack of Bones, curated by Ellen Langan and Blair Taylor for Peres Projects, Los Angeles (2008).

Andra Ursuta was born in Salonta, Romania, in 1979 and currently lives and works in New York. Andra Ursuta solo exhibitions include: Hammer Projects: Andra Ursuta, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2014), Solitary Fitness, Venus Over Manhattan, New York (2013); Mothers, Let Your Daughters Out into the Streets, François Ghebaly Gallery, Los Angeles (2012); Magical Terrorism, Ramiken, New York (2012). Andra Ursuta has took part in group exhibitions at distinguished institutions and galleries, such as: Body Languages, Saatchi Gallery, London, (2014) the 2013 Venice Biennale, The Encyclopaedic Palace, curated by Massimiliano Gioni; Expo 1, MoMA PS1, Long Island City, New York (2013); Ostalgia, New Museum, New York (2012) and Pure Freude, National Museum, Berlin, Germany (2011).