Nick Primo

Fitness of Purpose, October-November 2014 

Grizzly Grizzly is pleased to present ‘Fitness of Purpose,’ an exhibition of sculpture and related drawings by Nick Primo which blur the boundaries between art and design.

Nick Primo’s sculptures are formally composed arrangements of line, shape, and color, drawing on the recognizable forms of high-end contemporary furniture. Born of his interests in geometry and minimalism, his sculptures are primarily crafted from wood and powder coated steel among other materials, incorporating elements of high art and design. Falling within a spectrum of usability, the work ranges from fully functional pieces of furniture to purely sculptural gestures, while collapsing the differences between them.  Even in Nick’s least “usable” works, each part serves not only an aesthetic role, but also a functional role, establishing physical form and balance. In the artist’s words, the result is “objects whose purpose are ambiguous, but not ambivalent.”