Kenji Hirata: Misaho (painting) / Fretless Bass Solo (CNC-milled object)

For the exhibition Project to Surface five artists were invited to translate their visual work into three-dimensional objects through digital fabrication. Collaborating with architects from SHoP and specialists from Associated Fabrication, the works were conceptualized in 2D and modelled in 3D for production using a 3-axis CNC milling machine. The result: Five unique visions of 2D becoming 3D.

David Diao, KAWS and Matzu-MTP all created objects using forms from their visual practice. Diao created a model of a streamlined vintage trailer, while KAWS’ piece is a school chair with a monster mouth and eyes. Matzu-MTP’s giant toy bird was made to look like it has been assembled from a plastic modelling kit.

Leah Raintree: Sketch on paper (detail) / Bloomfield (CNC-milled panel, detail)

Of the five artists, Kenji Hirata and Leah Raintree come closest to their normal 2D work. Hirata’s colorful 2D forms here become a layered bas-relief in stark black and white, reminiscent of forms from Art Deco. His work becomes strangely imposing in this 3D incarnation, an interesting contrast to the friendly dream-like quality of his paintings.

Raintree started out with sketches of intricate flower-like shapes, which were then sliced into 3D layers and extruded into a topological landscape that spreads over four panels. The CNC process was used to draw the lines of the sketch into the surface, recreating the graphic complexity of the sketches as surface detail.

Except for David Diao’s trailer, all the works in the show were produced in Corian, a so-called solid surface material. Corian is well-suited for CNC milling, and gives a solid feel to the objects while also providing a consistency of look and feel. Presumably, there was a conscious decision not to add graphic treatments to the objects after the CNC process. Such treatments could have served to bring the pieces closer in line with the artists’ other work, but in their absence the viewer is forced to consider the objects purely as 3D form.

Interestingly, the material qualities of Corian also reinforce the artificial nature of the works. Not quite plastic and not quite stone, the objects remain other and unapproachable, their smooth whiteness implying that they might be prototypes or scientific reproductions. Rather than making the work feel sterile, this quality adds tension and mystery. This is perhaps the greatest success of the project.

Named after a modelling function in the 3D software Rhinoceros, Project to Surface is the brainchild of architect Ben Krone and curator team Dream So Much. It is currently on display in a temporary gallery at m127, a new development by SHoP Architects.

See the Project to Surface web site for more details. See Flickr for more images.

Update: The erratica blog has another write-up of the show with more pictures.