Designer Matthew Fisher has created a gallery and display space for his stoneware objects in New York City’s Seaport neighbourhood, referencing ancient culture and contemporary performance design.
The M Fisher Seaport Gallery is located at the southern tip of Manhattan, amidst the newly opened galleries and restaurants of New York City’s transforming Seaport neighbourhood.
The gallery hosts three main rooms dedicated to displaying Fisher’s objects, which range from pieces made of metal and cotton cord but are predominantly vessels made of remnants of stone such as Victoria Blu and Paonazzo marble.
To create the space, Fisher pulled from his background as a ballet dancer at the School of American Ballet, studies of ancient cultures and references such as the former Paris apartment of fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and partner Pierre Bergé and the opera house Palais Garnier.
“The Seaport Gallery is conceived as a theatrical interpretation of the domestic interior, where the formality of antiquity seamlessly blends with the comforts of quiet luxury,” said Fisher.
“Sharing my passion for stone was the earliest impulse behind the gallery. Stone radiates energy and embodies an inconceivable process of time when you stand amongst it.”
The entrance is an open space, flanked on either side by custom wooden cabinetry topped with stone countertops. On each wall, panels open to form silver-painted triptychs, while tiny, running lights sit in slim tracks cut into the countertops.
A large wooden table sits in the centre, and like the surrounding cabinets, holds an assortment of vessels by Fisher.
The gallery then moves into a centre area topped with an oculus-like circular soffit, lined with lighting. Copper panels clad the various passageways that cut through the space.
The furthermost room is outfitted with seating, additional display tables and “a nearly 600-pound carved igneous stone planter” that holds a large fern.
At the back of the room is a curtain woven with metallic thread that is meant to resemble a theatre curtain.
“The brass chains and weights of my design, which shape the curtain, evoke the emotions I felt when first viewing the stage curtain at the Palais Garnier,” said Fisher.
A small courtyard sits on the other side through glass doors, fitted with a central marble table supported by two sea-faring cherubs.
This is the first public space Fisher has designed.
“The Seaport Gallery took me nearly seven months to discover, yet I’ve dreamed of this space for far longer,” he said.
Nearby, designer Billy Cotton blended art deco, futurist and brutalist references for a restaurant in Lower Manhattan and a floating pool for the East River is undergoing testing.
The photography is by Stephen Kent Johnson unless otherwise noted
