Patrick Gavin

USE/PURPOSE, October 2011

As a part of DesignPhiladelphia 2011, Grizzly Grizzly is proud to present a new project by Brooklyn-based designer Patrick Gavin, entitled USE, PURPOSE. The sparse installation, consisting of abstracted versions of everyday objects, examines the inherent complexity of domestic interiors in relation to the objects that fill them. 

For USE, PURPOSE, Patrick Gavin arranges four custom-designed objects – a table, a small floor sculpture, and two room dividers - built from anodized aluminum and maple wood. Approaching each object as an industrial product, the artist creates a visual harmony through materials and design details, but ultimately he is asking us to examine contradictions. Within the grouping, each component offers a counterpart to the other, playing with ideas of functionality versus representation. The open dividers likewise challenge our presumptions; they do not act as screens, but rather as suggestions of spatial divisions. A suite of three graphite drawings on display will further illuminate Patrick Gavin’s design process.

In USE, PURPOSE, Patrick Gavin examines conceptions of object typologies, spatial boundaries, and industrial production. The artists says of his project at Grizzly Grizzly, “the arrangement reminds us that life contains both useful and useless things,” and under closer inspection,“use and purpose are unusual things.”

Although a native Philadelphian, Patrick Gavin is currently based in Brooklyn, New York. His design work is recognized nationally and internationally.  He has worked with clients such as Pace Wildenstein NYC/ James Turrell, Alessi, and Ferra Designs Inc. This coming year, he will be presenting a workshop on intuitive design processes in Bangkok, Thailand for the MFA Program of Rangsit University. His exhibition at Grizzly Grizzly coincides with a project at Temple University Gallery, here in Philadelphia.