Side Gallery

Stool model “Karton Hocker 2B”
From the series “Karton”
Manufactured by Illya Goldman Gubin
Germany, 2021
Paper, epoxy resin, fiberglass

Measurements
43 cm x 43 cm x 43h cm
17 in x 17 in x 17h in

Edition
Unique piece

Concept
In Karton, a selection of works from Illya Goldman Gubin, we are introduced to a new but familiar path. Extending from his resin experiments allowing fluidity to find form, now this takes the form of utility. Utility in function; resinated cardboard structures are so stiffened that they become the seats we remember as children. Stemming from smaller prototypes accomplished in 2020, these reinforced objects have found structural integrity through serious play. The crushed and hand-formed appearance is something out of a childhood memory. Our past relation with such ever-present material as cardboard, now enters our present again. This cognitive jolt of reminiscence of the familiar is further fortified through Illya’s experimental practice. Resin and fibreglass bring to reality that which before only existed in our youthful imagination. Past day dreams thrust into realities. A seat, a bench, a table; boxes stacked high call for engagement. Hardened by Illya’s signature resin and fibreglass techniques, this cardboard material normally associated with transport and movement now becomes domestically stoic. While staying true to their raw aesthetic, the use or misuse of these implied objects brings new meaning. Where these cardboard parameters once contained and held in, now they support and withstand out. Movement of goods within these boxes now alludes to mental movement and support outward; interior becomes exterior and back again. What we once carried, can now carry us. All that’s remaining from us is a return to the curious mind. Karton is born from remembering this mindset.