Photo credit: John R. Glembin (contact Milwaukee Art Museum for publication credit line)
Have you ever imagined that a giant green chicken could be a rocking chair? What is this sort of strange animal? Walking through the exhibition “Jaime Hayon: Technicolor” brings us into a place where design, art and craft merge in an alternate world of whimsy.
The show on view at the Milwaukee Art Museum presents this “crazy dream object,” as described by Madrid-born Hayon, along with a multitude of large glass and earthenware vases, tall luxurious tapestries, and drawings that give insight into this internationally renowned designer’s work.
Bright colors and fanciful faces are found throughout, as well as a sense of playful humor in the dozens of pieces. These are supplemented by instructive videos showing the process of glassblowing and tapestry weaving, emphasizing the roles that multiple people have in the making of these objects. Yet, they begin with the artist’s imagination, revealed through the various sketches and drawings that accompany the finished works. The drawings often have a freeform and intuitive feeling, exploring directions that are fully realized only through collaborations with other makers.
Of special note is the Afrikando series, commissioned by the Milwaukee Art Museum. This group of large glass vases will become part of the permanent collection, and this exhibition is an apt opportunity to say hello to these works in a larger context. The pieces feature some of the characteristic mask-like details that are also found in his large tapestries. Viewers will detect shades of surrealism here, with the metamorphosis of one figure into another and elegant geometries recalling fellow Spanish artist, Joan Miró.
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There is a sort of friendliness that pervades Hayon’s work. MAM curator Monica Obniski notes that his art is “positive and full of joy—something that I believe we need a bit more of today, especially in our contemporary climate.” Have some fun, explore the pieces and by all means have a seat inside of the gigantic yellow Wabbit sculpture. Like a futuristic rabbit spaceship, it is there for kids and adults to climb inside, looking at art from an entirely different direction.
Through March 25 at the Milwaukee Art Museum, 700 N. Art Museum Drive.
