ON THE SCENE: Chris Schanck VIP Exhibition Opening at Museum of Arts and Design in NYC

The wide-ranging solo show by the Detroit-based artist is open to the public through January 2023.

We joined Museum of Arts and Design Nanette L. Laitman Director Tim Rodgers for a private opening of the new exhibition at Columbus Circle’s Museum of Arts and Design, Chris Schanck: Off-World.

Living in the intersections of real and fantastic, gothic and modern, ancient and found, Schanck’s artistic practice is on full-display with a rare look at a variety of collected and all-new works. Living between refinement and camp, Schanck’s chairs, lighting, and other domestic forms become warped and redefined examinations of normalcy, incorporating a variety of materials, from found objects to reconstructions and atmospheres, from alien to ornate. In his local Detroit studio, Schanck works with a community of artists, students, and Bangladeshi craftspeople to make contributions to a collective practice.

In the course of the evening, Schanck offered his perspectives on the show along with an introduction by Andrew Blauvelt, Director of the Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Schanck described his collaborative approach with collectors who offer perspectives on his work, as well as his local community and finally his rekindled and collaborative relationship with his mother, who worked on a chandelier from across the country. Finally, Schanck thanked those in attendance, including his father and several others instrumental in his career and the manifestation of the solo show.

Guests at the preview included Catherine Futter, Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Damon Crain, President and Founder of Culture Object, Caroline Baumann, former director of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Marc Benda, Friedman Benda Gallery, Elissa Auther, MAD’s Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs and William and Mildred Lasdon Chief Curator, historian Daniella Ohad, MAD Board Members Marsy Mittlemann and Alexander Hankin, and Christina Senia, Co-Chair with Hankin of MAD Luminaries, the Museum’s young patrons group.

Chris Schanck: Off-World, the artist’s first solo museum exhibition in New York City, is on view to the public now through January 2023 at Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. Get more info and tickets here.