JOHN PROCARIO
John Procario (pictured right) with his team, crating a monumental 35 feet Freeform Sculpture
Copyright © 2022 Todd Merrill
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Todd Merrill & Associates, Inc.
80 Lafayette Street New York, NY 10013
www.toddmerrillstudio.com
Printed in the United States of America
1. artist — monograph.
Catalog Design: Dallas Dunn
Photography: Simon Leung
John Procario
Self published by Lightning Press Totowa, NJ
Todd Merrill
Procario, John.
John Procario / Todd Merrill.
Introduction
By Todd Merrill
John Procario has a vision for creating forms composed of hand carved wood and a travelling line of light. Each work is drawn floating in space, and presents itself as a unique form that seems to change as the viewer walks around it. This is a mark of great sculpture, minimal yet changing, encouraging the observer to keep looking and to continue the interaction. John himself is humble and confident, with a strong body and flexible mind. His work is very much an expression of self.
When I first met John he was laying on the floor under a table in my gallery - he was obsessively interested in wood in any form and all techniques for making. Being brought up in a woodworking shop by his carpenter father, this obsession is in his DNA. As a young artist the simple complexity of his forms is surprising. Though his embracing of LED light as an inspiration and a material in the use of sculpture is very much in sync with his generation.
Procario’s sculptural lighting is composed of micro-laminated, cold-pressed bent wood. His process begins by twisting ribbons of paper to explore potential forms and lines of light. However, rather than using these models to control the wood’s shape, he allows the wood some freedom to form the sculpture. The final result is blade carved by hand. The artistic process becomes a collaboration between the artist’s respective vision and the wood’s nature.
The understated elegance of John’s work sits well in a glass and steel architectural masterpiece or a humble beach side cottage. It’s universally appealing the basic materials of simple Ash or Walnut combined with natural linen as a soft diffuser for the futuristic LEDs create a universal appeal. It is work that is totally of the 21st century with timeless aura of elemental simplicity that is always chic.
Procario pushes the limit of breakage to create a sense of strain in the otherwise fluid gestures of his wooden works.
Conceptually, this allows beauty to be the product of stress.
-Todd Merrill
Series I
2016
22 H x 84 W x 36 D Inches
Oak, natural oil, LEDs
Freeform
Freeform XI 2019
32H x 96W x 25D Inches
Bleached ash wood, wax top coat, LEDs
Courtesy of De La Torre Design Studio
Freeform Series XII 2018
20 H x 72 W x 32 D inches
White oak, Diluted iron oxide, Wax top coat, LEDs
Freeform Series VII
24 H x 60 W x 60 D inches
White oak, dark grey finish, wax, LEDs
Freeform II 2017
32H x 27W x 113D Inches
Ash wood, white oil, LEDs
Courtesy of Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects
Freeform XXXIII 2021
50H x 72W x 40D inches
White oak with black stain, LEDs
Freeform IV 2017
26H x 30W x 68D Inches
Ash wood, bronze-resin coating, LEDs
John Procario’s Freeform Series is available by commission in sizes ranging from intimate to monumental. As a sculptural objects Procario’s works can provide a dynamic focal point to an interior. Scaled to a monumental size the works can act as an architectural element, helping dictate and define a space.
(Pictured) Procario‘s Monumental Freeform is now installed in the lobby of the Kaufman Orginization’s Nelson Tower at 450 7th Avenue, in New York City. This incredible hand-made, wood and LED interlocking sculpture measures an impressive 35 feet, spanning the length of the lobby. The first of its kind, Procario‘s sculpture is an impressive feat of technology and design. The building’s lobby was exquisitely designed by Design Republic
Monumental Freeform
Wood doesn’t always want to work with you when you are freeform bending so you have to work with it. I really enjoy that. Sometimes it takes you in new directions that would never have happened if everything was planned out.
John Procario
35 H x 94 W x 26 D inches
Bleached ash wood, natural oil, LEDs
Freeform Series VIII
Vertical Freeform I 2017
75H x 30W x 24D Inches
White oak, wax, LEDs
Freeform Series Ceiling Light Sculpture
Ash with White Stain, LEDs, Linen
51h x 68w x 22d in
Vertical Tear Drop Freeform 2024
Ash, LED, Linen Diffuser
55h x 20.50w x 26d in
83H x 109W x 28D inches
Bleached ash wood, wax top coat, LEDs
Freeform Series Light Sculpture XVI
Vertical Freeform Wall Sculpture III
2023
Ash, Gesso, White Oil, LEDs
60h x 72w x 14d inches
Vertical Freeform Wall Sculpture II 2022
Walnut, Black Oil Stain, LEDs
54h x 48w inches
Standing Freeform V
Bleached Ash, LEDs
93H x 37W x 16D inches
Crevasse Series III
2019
21H x 91W x 26D inches
Ash wood, black stain, black oil, LEDs
Crevasse Series IV
2023
Ash, Gesso & White Oil, LEDs
20h x 90w x 41d inches
John Procario’s torqued, vessel-shaped Basin Series engages the viewer both physically and psychologically by synthesizing conceptual art, minimalism, and contemporary design. The enthralling scale of the work appearing to levitate weightlessly, either in the air or on the wall, in harmony with the central aura of light reflected in the warmth of the wood, has the captivating effect of drawing the viewer in. Much like the works of Richard Serra and Anish Kapoor, Procario’s commanding sculptures create emotional impact through sensation and observation.
As with his popular Freeform Series that uses the act of placing stress on wood to achieve an incredible fluidity, the Basin Series achieves emotional resonance through an equally masterful manipulation of wood, transcending the material’s inherent confines.
Basin Series I
2019
72H x 30W x 42D inches
Bleached ash wood, LEDs
Basin Series Wall Light I
2019
80H x 29W x 18D in
Bleached ash, white oil, gesso, and LEDs
Anthropose, the unique collaborative sculpture created by John Procario and Alex Roskin commands attention with its monumental presence and intricate craftsmanship. This large-scale sculpture is a harmonious fusion of wood, bronze, and LED technology, marrying Procario’s expertise in freeform bent wood with Roskin’s mastery of curvilinear bronze sculptural furniture. Named “Anthropose,” the sculpture encapsulates its essence through its evocative title, which derives from the Greek roots “anthropos” (human) and “pose” (stance).
Ascending from the bronze base, Procario’s contribution takes shape in the form of a sinuous ribbon of blackened bent wood. Each strip of wood is meticulously twisted and sculpted, creating a sense of perpetual motion that is accentuated by hidden LEDs. The result is a mesmerizing band of warm light that traces the contours of Procario’s organic forms, casting dynamic shadows and illuminating the surrounding space with a soft, inviting glow. At its foundation lies Roskin’s signature touch – a trunk-like base of blackened bronze, which splits open as it extends towards the ground, revealing a polished bronze interior that glimmers with a golden hue.
Anthropose
2024
Bronze, Mahogany Wood
87h x 34w x 34d in
Maintaining his signature visual language, the sofa is a culmination of all of Procario’s bodies of work, the lyrical line of the Freeform lighting series, the play of mass and scale seen in the Basin and Crevasse lighting series, and the relationship to the human form in the Posterior lounge chair and benches. With each new series and work produced, Procario’s sense of line and form is further honed.
Inspired by both the sensual curves of the human form and Hudson Valley’s rolling landscape, the sofa is shaped in a gentle C curve, its back maintaining a low arch. Following Procario’s signature organic aesthetic, the thirteen-foot frame subtly undulates. Known for his master craftsmanship and ability to create a visual illusion of a line in perpetual motion.
“I like the freedom and sculptural flexibility of a sofa. To me, sculpture is about creating a spatial experience for the viewer.” says the artist. “With the sofa, I can play with the viewer’s experience in a more intimate way [by considering how] people will sit and interact with the piece…” explains Procario who first crafts the piece as a 3D linear sculpture before adding in the functional elements necessary to render the work a sofa.
The Sculpted Sofas’ designs are completely informed by the shape and directionality of the freeform wood base. Echoing his lighting series, the sofa carries a sense of levity in its form – the central point of the sofa floats above ground, only rooting down at the work’s rounded corners. Following an organic and intuitive process, there is no predetermined design, instead the form emerges as a result of a slow building process honoring the microstack laminated wood’s natural curves. The process diverges once the internal armature of the sofa is built – the work is continually built up and carved down until the desired shape is achieved resulting in a completely unique work with each piece. The sofa’s base is a crisp ash wood and upholstered in a dreamily soft cream alpaca/wool blend.
Sculpted Sofa Series
2024
18.5H x 89W x 28.5D Inches
Bleached ash, with white oil and gesso
Sculpted Sofa Series 2024
18.5H x 89W x 28.5D Inches
Bleached ash, with white oil and gesso
The elegance of Procario’s Freeform Series is translated in his bentwood Posterior Bench through the artist’s enduring focus on the natural beauty of his chosen material and the deliberate pressure used to exploit its inherent tensibility. As in previous works, the Posterior Bench similarly uses wood to create a visual metaphor for the human body, in this case the gentle curve of a body’s lower back. Self-supported and streamlined, Procario’s design reinforces his sophisticated aesthetic of organic sculptural works.
Posterior Bench
18.5H x 89W x 28.5D Inches
Bleached ash, with white oil and gesso
Basin Series Lounge Chair
40H x 84W x 26.50D inches
Basin Series Standing Bowl
2022
Ash wood, black stain, black oil
TODD MERRILL IN CONVERSATION WITH JOHN PROCARIO
Todd Merrill What inspires your “Free Form” LED and wood sculpture?
John Procario I’m interested in the quality of a line and the movement of a line in space. A line in space is so different than a line on paper.
LED is the inspiration for the shape. Wood and linen combine to create a line in space that is soft and flexible - it presents an unexpected use of material - wood, the linen then diffuses the light in an ideal proportion to the sculpture.
TM Where did this all start?
JP Dad was a builder and I was always building and working in wood. I was obsessed with drawing and began as a drawing major at SUNY Purchase in upstate New York. I switched to sculpture when I found the drawing to be limiting. I took a course in woodworking and that, combined with my focus on sculpture, caused everything to change. I became interested in minimalism and the principal that a sculpture changes from every vantage point as the viewer interacts with it. Brancusi was an influence, especially the Brancusi pedestals which I found to be as important as his sculpture.
TM How did you develope your technique for creating the Freeforms and Luminaires?
JP The technique for making the Freeform and Luminaire lights was largely self-taught. There is currently no manual, book, or course to teach this method of creating “bent” wood forms. For six years, I experimented with every possible way to bend wood - steam, heat, water and then dry, cold, and finally with the wood cut into layers of micro-thin pieces. This method worked the best.
The LED and wood together create defined lines that float with a malleable transient quality from one side to the other. There is a purposeful spacial ambiguity, apparently simple, but complicated enough that the viewer does not get it all in one look. My intention is to surprise and draw the viewer in to the piece.
TM Your work is unique and signature. How do you see it evolving?
JP Recently my ambition has centered around freedom of scale to create a large size work that has a physical impact on the viewer and encourages interaction. My newest work is focused on vertical as well as horizontal pieces and two forms or lines interacting but not meeting. The ultimate expression for me will be in an outdoor setting using wood and LED in a large scale format to create mesmerizing forms that beg interaction and contemplation from the viewer.
2022
Bleached ash with white oil, LED’s
14H x 40W x 4D inches
2022
Ash, black stain with black oil, LEDs
38H x 14W x 5D in
Terraqueous Wall Light Sculpture II
Terraqueous Wall Light Sculpture I
Todd Merrill Studio
For over fifteen years, Todd Merrill Studio has exhibited and purveyed the finest selection of post-war American studio furniture. 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, Rizzoli published an expanded edition in 2018, adding 60 pages to his original book. This survey of the period included two additional chapters highlighting the importance of Women Makers and Showrooms.
In 2009, shortly after the initial publication of “Modern Americana”, Merrill launched Studio Contemporary, in an effort to develop and represent the work of an international group of established and emerging contemporary artists. Today, their work is sought after by a wide range of art and design patrons, from collectors and decorators, to curators and museum academics.
While their work may be functional or historically based, each artist brings a fresh perspective and a desire to express more than just decorative influence. With an ever growing range of mediums--from textile to porcelain, to marble and LEDs--their joint curation at Studio Contemporary relies upon their shared drive to push those materials to their absolute aesthetic limits. The
result: dynamic, handmade, and unique pieces that contribute to today’s increasingly relevant “grey space” between art and design.
The gallery has progressively cultivated and established new artists, placing their work into private and public collections which include The Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum (New York), The Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), The Museum of Art and Design (New York), The Victoria and Albert Museum (London), Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris), The High Museum of Art (Atlanta), and The Brooklyn Museum (New York), and the Carnegie Museum of Art (Pennsylvania), amongst others.
The gallery exhibits throughout the year at some of the leading art and design fairs in the world. A selection of these includes The Salon Art + Design (New York); Design Miami (Basel, Switzerland and Miami); FOG: Design + Art (San Francisco); the Pavilion of Arts and Design (New York, Paris, Geneva, and London); Collectible (Brussels); Masterpiece (London); Collect (London); Gallery Seoul (Seoul); The International Fine Art & Antiques Dealer Show (New York); Zona MACO (Mexico City); Tajan (Paris); Design Days Dubai (Dubai); Art Wynwood (Miami); Art Toronto (Toronto)
