GARY MAGAKIS
Copyright © June, 2023 Todd Merrill
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GARY MAGAKIS
Todd Merrill & Associates, Inc.
80 Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10013
www.toddmerrillstudio.com
Printed in the United States of America
Magakis, Gary.
Gary Magakis / Todd Merrill.
1. artist — monograph.
First Edition.
Catalog Design by Dallas Dunn
Photography by Simon Leung
TODD MERRILL STUDIO
Self published using Lightning Press Totowa, NJ
GARY MAGAKIS
By Todd Merrill
Gary Magakis has built an almost cult following amongst top designers and collectors for his dynamic works that are composed of seemingly simple shapes. When creating his bronze and steel sculpture and furniture, metal sculptor Gary Magakis looks to ancient metal arts, modern architecture and sculpture, and the American Studio Movement for inspiration. Undoubtedly the latter has had the biggest influence on his work. Magakis received a degree in sculpture from the Penn State University and was taught how to weld by sculptor Klaus Ihlenfeld, who was Harry Bertoia’s assistant.
It is the handmade sculpted metal furniture of Paul Evans, however, that has left a lasting impression on Magakis. Evans’ unprecedented use of sculpted metal forms and patinated surfaces can be seen in Magakis’ Sculpted Metal series. His approach is distinct and creates bold and dense geometric forms that exude a Modernist elegance and buoyance. Though at first glance the works appear sharp, they are actually gracefully curvilinear as each plane is hand formed, organic, and slightly off square.
As the artist works on a commission basis, custom dimensions and finishes may be accommodated.
Bronze Double-Sided Console USA, 2023
Steel and Textured, Patinated Bronze 36H x 126W x 28D Inches
Gary Magakis’ unique steel and bronze case pieces reflect the sculptor’s distinct approach to creating bold and dense geometric forms that exude a Modernist elegance and buoyancy. At once functional objects and works of art, the cabinets are designed to suggest weightlessness, while retaining a muscular visual power. The dynamic relationship between the lightness of the consoles’ cantilevered forms and their sturdy, dense materials creates an ideal aesthetic equilibrium.
The arrangement of these cabinets belies their heavy steel and bronze construction. The console’s gracefully tapered edges lend it another quality of lightness. The cabinets change in both shape and material, composed of a variety of metals including blackened and incised steel, gilded steel, and incised bronze. Magakis has truly mastered the art of combining form and function.
Blackened Steel and Layered Bronze Console USA, 2017 Steel, Bronze 32H x 89W x 19D inches
Bronze Low Console with Cabinets
USA, 2022
Steel, Bronze
27H x 93W x 27D inches
Epic Double Cantilevered Console
2017
Steel, Bronze, 24 kt Gold
28.25H x 140W x 21D inches
Cantilevered Console with Cabinets
2014 Steel, Bronze
100W x 19D x 32H inches
Blackened Steel Console with Mirrored Bronze
2015 Bronze, Steel
80W x 21D x 34H inches
Blackened Steel and Layered Bronze Desk
2019 Bronze, Steel
31H x 51W x 28D inches
The Il Ponte Bench (The Bridge) was inspired by Constructivism and Frank Lloyd Wright’s cantilevered homes, Gary Magakis channels architectural elements in his work. Though the table’s geometric sections appear to have sharp edges, they are actually gracefully curvilinear. Il Ponte, which can function as a bench or a low table, reflects the sculptor’s distinct approach to creating bold and dense geometric forms that exude a Modernist elegance and buoyance. At once a functional object and a freestanding sculpture, the table is experienced differently from every angle.
Il Ponte Bench 2018 Bronze
18H x 87W x 24D inches
The level planes of Gary Magakis’ handmade, bronze and steel low tables reference the centuries old stonewalls that populate Magakis’ surroundings in rural Pennsylvania. The dense forms of the table are stacked in a cantilevered arrangement, lending the work a unique duality of denseness and weightlessness.
Il Ponte Low Table I
2018 Steel
15H x 54W x 31D inches
Il Ponte Low Table II
2018 Bronze
18H x 69W x 34D inches
Il Ponte Low Table III
2022 Bronze, Steel
16H x 70W x 39D inches
Il Ponte Low Table IV
2017 Steel
18H x 79W x 34W inches
Bronze Stacked Low Table
2017
Bronze 15.5H x 76W x 30W inches
Blackened Steel Stacked Low Table
2016 Steel
16H x 42W x 38D in
Bronze Stacked Low Table 2018
Bronze
17H x 43W x 34.5D inches
Bronze and Steel Stacked Low Table with Drawer
2022
Bronze, Steel
19H x 51W x 43D inches
Ledges Console
2017 Steel
33H x 95W x 28D inches
Gary Magakis’ unique, blackened steel Ledges Console channels architectural elements into an elegant, yet resilient structure. By blending architectural principles from virtuosos such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Oscar Niemeyer with modernist sculptural concepts introduced by artists such as David Smith and Joel Shapiro, Magakis has created a visual language of shapes that inform his work. The delightfully off square shapes that sit, cantilevered from the central base, give the console a delightful weightlessness that contradicts the work’s industrial material and defy the limits of the architecture around them.
Gary Magakis’ unique, hand-made side tables can be experienced differently from every angle, much like a freestanding sculpture. Crafted in variations of bronze and steel, the Ledges Series is made on a commission basis allowing for custom dimensions and finishes.
Ledges 1 Side Table
2016
26W x 20H x 37D Inches
Bronze, Steel
Ledges 2 Side Table
37W x 24D x 18H inches
2016 Steel
Ledges 3 Side Table
16W x 14D x 21H inches
2016 Steel
Cardboard Maquettes
Todd Merrill Studio
Todd Merrill Studio represents an international group of established and emerging artists, each with a singular artistic vision and unprecedented point of view. In creating unique works of collectible design, each artist takes a hands-on approach that intersects contemporary design, fine art, traditional craft techniques, and pioneering innovation.
Individually, through meticulous craftsmanship and rigorous studio experimentation, each has developed leading-edge, proprietary methods that break previously set inherent limitations of conventional materials like wood, metal, plaster, concrete, ceramics, glass, and resin. Their intimate studio approach fosters an atmosphere of creativity where the work rendered significantly bears the hand of the artist.
Collectively the artists are helping to create a new visual vocabulary that advances long-held, established artistic boundaries. Their dynamic, one-of-a-kind, and frequently groundbreaking works contribute to today’s increasingly relevant grey space between art and design.
With the gallery’s support, the artists’ works have entered the collections of major private and public patrons and prestigious museums including the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum in New York; the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston; the Museum of Art and Design in New York; the High Museum in Atlanta; the Victoria and Albert Museum in London; the Carnegie Museum of Art in Philadelphia, the Houston Museum of Fine Art, and the Brooklyn Museum in New York.
In 2000, Todd Merrill opened Todd Merrill Antiques which quickly became renowned for its glamorous and eclectic mix of twentiethcentury furniture and lighting. The pioneering gallery was one of the of the first to promote modernist and postmodernist American studio
artisans including Paul Evans, Phillip Lloyd Powell, George Nakashima, Karl Springer, James Mont, Tommi Parzinger, among others.
In 2008, Rizzoli published Merrill’s “Modern Americana: Studio Furniture from High Craft to High Glam”, the first ever authoritative examination of the great studio furniture makers and designers who, from 1940 thru the 1990s defined American high style. To celebrate the tenth anniversary, in 2018 Rizzoli published an expanded edition, adding 60 pages to his original book. This survey of the period continues with two massive additional chapters focused on Women Makers and Showrooms.
After the publication of Modern Americana in 2008, Merrill began to shift the focus of the gallery and started the Studio Contemporary program which has today become his primary focus. Also in 2008 the gallery introduced Custom Originals, a line of custom produced upholstered furniture designed by Merrill himself. Merrill’s signature creations reflect his vast experience with twentieth-century design and knowledge of contemporary tastes.
