When it launched its first edition in June 2021, the Los Angeles design world was in turmoil. “It looks like something really special for the Los Angeles design scene,” a prominent fellow editor told me and advised me to stop in town. Curated by creative director Alexander May, SIZED is an art and design platform that brings together creative communities through exhibitions in its new permanent space in Hollywood. Today, the studio announced its roster of participating artists for the second iteration, titled “SIZED: VESSELS,” which opens February 16.
The show will feature over 200 containers from all manner of international design legends like Gaetano Pesce and Los Angeles favorites like Kelly Wearstler, Cactus Store and Commune Design, and will also include a site-specific Ikebana installation by the director of SŌGETSU Los Angeles , Ravi GuneWardena and Deputy Director Tory J. Lowitz, who opens the purpose of the ships to the ritual. In collaboration with the new Parisian platform Concept, which will open this month, ten works will be broadcast in the form of NFT to be enjoyed also in the digital space. Before its launch, Cultivated reveals the list of artists and spoke with May about the origin of the studio, her new love affair with floral art and creating a global exhibition in the event of a pandemic.
Elizabeth Fazzare: How was SIZED designed? And why did you choose Los Angeles as your location?
Alexander May: SIZED was born in reference to our connection with design within the home, partly due to the pandemic. I have a background as a curator and with this renewed focus on the objects we live with, I wanted to find a way to bring artists and designers together in dialogue with each other – opening a conversation about what we see as the design today.
I used to live in Los Angeles, but came back here during the Milan pandemic and felt there was room for a collective experience in the city, weaving local and international talent together. It was humbling to see the embrace of the community. I never dreamed of opening a permanent home for SIZED so quickly, and here we are.
EF: Why did you choose to focus this edition of SIZED on Ikebana and vessels? Have you noticed a specific surge of interest in Japanese art?
A M: This exhibit was inspired by a variety of conversations I had with close friends around Ikebana. I’ve been doing flower arranging myself since I was a kid. My mother spent a lot of time in Japan in her early twenties – her family lived there for 10 years – so she practiced Ikebana at home when I was young. My fascination is old. When I researched the Sōgetsu school further, I was really drawn to the work of Sōfū Teshigahara in the 1930s and 1940s. Specifically, the way he broke tradition within the classical structures of the ‘Ikebana while retaining incredible references to its form and history within Japanese culture. The ship can be a very neutral subject, but I love that its fundamentality can be interpreted in so many ways.
EF: Compared to the first edition last year, have the challenges of organizing an international exhibition changed?
A M: Some challenges always remain the same; dealing with shipping is never easy. But I’ve found that coming out of the isolation of this pandemic, there’s more connectivity between designers and artists than ever before. This edition of SIZED is much more global than last year. I think because VESSELS as a project is more restricted in its concept, it has widened the scope of collaborators.
EF: What inspires you currently?
A M: I’m really enjoying the experience of exploring Los Angeles and connecting with SIZED’s new permanent space here. I re-engage with the white box and this has led me to focus on the materiality of the works we present here. I can’t get enough aluminum right now. The exploration of the medium in this show inspires me. There are works in aluminum, steel, clay, marble, plaster, concrete, glass, bronze, rubber, fiber, resin, silicone and, of course, plants.
Read the full list of participants below:
1000 Embedded
Addison Wolsley
Ali Beletic
Alma Allen
Amelie Stevens
André Thuret
Antonio Forteoni
Ashley Martin
Ashwini Bhat
Avi Kovacevich
Base 10
Ben Medansky
Blum & Poe
Brett Robinson
Catnip
Charlotte Perriand
Classy by accident
Chris Fusaro
Chris Miller
Chris Wolston
Christian Varga
Christopher Al-Jumah
Claudia Girbau
Clive Sithole
Communal design
WEAK
Dana Arbib
David Cressey
LAIR
Dina Satti
Discipline Studio
Donna Green
Eddie Olin
Ei Arakawa
Elliot Bergman
Emmanuel Olunkwa
Emmanuel Rohss
Eric Oglander
Ethan Caflisch
Fai Khadra
Modern Formative
Gaetano Pesce
John Leonard
gannet
Grace Prince
Casa hem to Lee
Stanton
Heven Glass
Hostler and burrows
hot cacti
Ilya Goldman Gubin
J. M. Szymanski
Jean-Boris Lacroix
Jean Luce
Jeff Martin
JF Chen
Jim McDowell
Jonny Ribeiro
Joseph Mass
Jude Pauli
Kati Tuominen-niittyl
Kazunori Hamana
Kelly Wearstler
Kevin Stalh
Kit Howland
Klaus Jurgen Schmidt
Kwangho Lee
Leena Simili
Lianne Barnes
Logan Wannamaker
LS Rubber
Lukas Stoever
Marc Leschelier
Marta Gallery
Massimiliano Locatelli
Matty Fisher
Max Lamb
Minjae Kim
Nevine Mahmoud
NFS
Nick Gianetti
Nonaka Hill
Overduin & co
Pablo Picasso
Philippe Malouin
AR Workshop – Rich Aybar
Radford Gallery
Ravi Gune Wardena
Reinaldo Sanguino
Rick Owens Furniture
Rio Studio
Roger Hermann
Studio rooms
Salon 94 Design
Scarlett Red
Shane Gabier
Shoshana Wayne Gallery
Shozo Michikawa
Flee Kinoshita
Skylar Haskard
Sonja Du Meyer
Balestra Studio
IMA Studio
Studio Jake Arnold
Studio Paolini
Sommer
Susan for Susan
Tappan Collective
The art journalist
The perfect future
The Tropics
The window
thomas barger
Tienda X
Tino Seubert
TIWA Select
Tory J. Lowitz
Ulysses Desanti
Vanessa Beecroft
Walter Mingledorff
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