Living — Wendell Castle

Friedman Benda reimagines the home of the late American sculptor and furniture maker Wendell Castle (1932–2018) and ceramist Nancy Jurs (b. 1941). Curated by their daughter Alison Castle, the exhibition takes its cue from a 1973 House Beautiful feature documenting the artists’ creative living environment in Scottsville, New York, where nearly everything was designed or made by Castle, Jurs and their circle.

Works pictured in that article and unseen publicly since have been lent by the family, including Castle’s sculptural designs in wood and molded plastic — among the first furnishings made in that material in America — alongside Jurs’ functional and sculptural ceramics. Domestic objects are arranged to suggest a kitchen, a bedroom, and living and dining rooms, so visitors encounter the work as it was lived with rather than as museum objects.

Early pieces such as Chaise Rocker (1962), Floor Lamp (1967) and Environment (1972) are shown with later works including Caligari’s Mistress’ Desk and Chair (1990), Arcadia (2010) and Opposites Attract (2017), tracing six decades of invention.