Kevin Walz Release_FINAL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wolf-Gordon Previews
Overlay/Underlay
New Collection by Kevin Walz
at NeoCon 2014
New York, NY- Wolf-Gordon will debut Overlay/Underlay by artist and designer
Kevin Walz, a collection of wallcoverings that explore two-sidedness in a distinctly
painterly way. Walz has utilized translucent inks for visual richness, replicating the
effect of paint seeping through canvas from the other side. While taken through
serialized manufacturing, these geometric designs retain a sense of craft, evoking
silkscreen or block print. Five patterns, ideal for hospitality and commercial
interiors, will be on view in the Wolf-Gordon showroom at the Merchandise Mart,
Chicago, Suite 10-161.
Explains Walz: “My collection has a human touch of line, of
brush stroke, of textures, of translucent inks. The longer
you look at these geometrical designs, the more you see
variation and individual character.”
The design process began by sketching patterns with pencil on paper and handpainting on linen, allowing the paint to bleed through the other side. Walz then
scanned the patterns on the front of the linen and overlapped them with the
textures created on the back. This process allowed for a “dual vision” of the
patterns – both the front (“overlay) and the back (“underlay) of the image are
available to the viewer simultaneously.
Wallcoverings
Marz, an upbeat pattern, features horizontal rows of truncated spherical shapes
rendered more complex with arcs and intersecting lines. These planet-like forms
build on top of each other creating larger, undulating geometric shapes.
Jax is a modern rendition of a fleur-de-lis. The pattern consists of geometric
forms, similar to the shapes of a child’s ‘ball and jacks’ game. These forms repeat
to create a grid, which is set against diamond shapes, bringing another dimension
to the animated pattern.
Dimon, a diamond coordinate to Jax, prominently displays the overlap of both the
positive and negative textures from the original linen. The directional, painterly
strokes reference the hand that created it.
Nite was developed as a vertical texture that appears to be on muslin, created by
using half a dozen different widths of brushes. The application of paint layers was
done over three days at full scale. The image of the front and the image of the
backside of the painted surface were scanned into a computer and manipulated to
develop the final pattern for the design.
Honeykom resembles a leaky, perforated metal, with some of the dots exploding
from the background. This binary pattern alternates, at one time featuring one color
as the background, and then the other.
Upholstery
Yoke is a performance upholstery (vinyl) design that will follow the five
wallcovering patterns in September 2014. The pattern features a repeating “v”
shaped form that overlaps and spins throughout the fabric in a playful, bouncy way.
The geometric shapes are all slightly lopsided with clearly displayed pencil lines,
again, offering the viewer a sense of the hand-drawn process.
About Kevin Walz
Kevin Walz is an artist and designer. He studied fine arts at Pratt Institute and the
New York Studio School. He never studied design.
Walzworkinc, his design firm, is located in New York. Walz is known for his spatial
designs, employing materials, processes and technologies from other disciplines,
notably those from art and industry.
Walz has designed many signature product lines of lighting, carpets, fabrics, bath
fixtures and fittings, and furniture. His furniture designs begin with an interaction
of fine natural materials, such as hardwoods, cork, glass, metals, which are then
used with resins, carbon fiber, new technologies and methods, allowing thin
profiles, fluid forms and tactile, resilient surfaces. Some of the materials Walz has
developed have been patented.
Walz is the recipient of the Rome Prize for his work in design and is in the Interior
Design Hall of Fame. His art and designs have been exhibited in galleries and
museums in North America and Europe. His interior spaces have been documented
in publications worldwide.
About Wolf-Gordon
Wolf-Gordon is an American design company founded in 1967 to offer designers a
comprehensive source for all types of wallcoverings, united by the common
qualities of excellent design and dependable performance. The product line
includes wallcoverings, upholstery and drapery textiles, paints, and Wink clear,
dry-erase coating. Wolf-Gordon sales representatives are based in all major
markets in the United States.
Press Contact
Dalia Stoniene
Susan Grant Lewin Associates
212.947.4557
[email protected]
Overlay/Underlay. (L TO R) Jax, Nite, Marz, Dimon, Honeykom, Nite, Marz, Dimon.
Drawings by Kevin Walz of Honeykom, Jax and Marz in development.
Honeycom. Photo: James Shanks.