This summer, Gallery FUMI presents Casa al Mare (which translates to ‘house by the sea’), a group exhibition that transports visitors to the charming world of a seaside home, through a selection of unique and limited-edition works by the art gallery’s roster of artists and designers. Sand decorates the gallery windows, where works are displayed as if emerging from the beach, much like finding hidden treasures along the shore. At the design exhibition (which runs from July 2 – September 7, 2024), an anthropomorphic ocean wave wraps around a wall in a bespoke mural by Saelia Aparicio, painted in the London-based Spanish artist’s signature whimsical language.
The works at the gallery in Mayfair, London, are woven with narrative and demonstrate exceptional craftsmanship. Highlights include the latest Dreamcatcher by Rowan Mersh, a suspended sculpture made of hundreds of sliced seashells sewn together meticulously, and Mollusk by Kustaa Saksi, a tapestry depicting diverse forms found beneath the ocean’s surface and crafted with Japanese Mino washi paper as well as viscose derived from wood pulp.
Like ripples on water, a coffee table from the Fuzz series by Study O Portable is made from multiple layers of pigmented jesmonite in hues of sandy white and aquamarine blue. A stool design from the Armadillo series by Lukas Wegwerth and Corinna Dehn is wrapped in sculpted and pigmented wooden shingles, in a reimagining of the traditional use of shingles in forest-rich regions for roofing and cladding.
Wall-mounted works by Sam Orlando Miller are crafted with traditional mouth-blown glass and mirrored by hand in various shades of blue, to recall the ocean’s myriad hues. Sculptures by Emma Witter are crafted from copper-plated oyster and clam shells with wire and green-hued pigments, echoing the feminine symbolism of Botticelli’s Venus rising from the sea and standing on a giant scallop shell.
Max Lamb’s new Poly works, made from polystyrene and coated in polyurethane rubber, are a burst of vibrant, saturated colour. Meanwhile, Glithero’s diptych, a cyanotype print of delicate seaweed forms on paper, is serene and contemplative. Exploring the profound influence of place on the human spirit, Saelia and Attua Aparicio’s collaborative work Solaris de Esgueva consists of a stoneware totem with ash shelves punctuated with hand-painted motifs, in an ode to the artists’ childhoods in Spain.
The art exhibition also features works by Jie Wu, Allan Collins, Leora Honeyman, Johannes Nagel, Casey McCafferty, Voukenas Petrides and Jeremy Anderson.
