Chris Wolston

Chris Wolston is an American designer and artist based in Brooklyn, New York. His playfully fabricated work - which spans furniture, lighting, seating and accessories - combines traditional techniques and materials with a wry, contemporary realism, arriving at an entirely original postmodern aesthetic.
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Wolston’s interest in non-Western artmaking traditions was fomented at the Kokrobitey Institute, in Accra, Ghana, where he studied before receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2009. In 2013, he was awarded a Fulbright grant to study in Colombia, where he solidified his distinctive technique. Invigorated by his exposure, Wolston opened a second studio in Medellin to continue his collaboration with local artisans.

From neon sconces to terracotta vessels, his work is bound by genre or form; his Fetish Lights Collection for Sight Unseen’s OFFSITE show in 2015, for example, was borne out of studies for handmade cookware, and combines clear and multi-colored tubular glass and other materials into a series of otherworldly, organic sculptures.

Wolston made his Design Miami debut in 2017 with his sand-cast aluminum Body series. His work has been shown at Hand Job Gallery, Bongo Bongo, New York, NY; Collective Design, New York, NY; OFFSITE; Burning Down the House, New York, NY; Museum of American Glass, Creativity Ascertained in New Jersey; Museo de Antioquia, El Barro Tiene Voz, Medellin, Colombia; Plecto Gallery, ESPACIO, Medellin, Colombia; Plecto Gallery, Strange Commonplace, Medellin, Colombia; K-ARTS, Cherry Blossom Live Event by Jocelyne Prince, Seoul, South Korea; The Gowanus Studio Space, Jell-O Mold Competition in Brooklyn, NY; and Glass Art Association of Canada (GAAC) Conference, Sonata de Verre, Montreal, Canada, among others.

 
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EXHIBITIONS

MIAMI

Design Miami/ 2019

For Design Miami 2019, The Future Perfect recreated the gallery’s singular point of view in a booth that emphasized materiality - both natural and quixotic; experimental process; and a sense of the sublime. The booth -  designed with cool neutral walls and natural fiber flooring - set the stage for the gallery’s roster of collectible artists.
MIAMI

Design Miami/ 2019

For Design Miami 2019, The Future Perfect recreated the gallery’s singular point of view in a booth that emphasized materiality - both natural and quixotic; experimental process; and a sense of the sublime. The booth -  designed with cool neutral walls and natural fiber flooring - set the stage for the gallery’s roster of collectible artists.
New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco

MESS: Expressionism and Experimentation in Contemporary Ceramics

The Future Perfect is pleased to present MESS, a group show of ceramic works by 32 international artists across 3 locations in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.
New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco

MESS: Expressionism and Experimentation in Contemporary Ceramics

The Future Perfect is pleased to present MESS, a group show of ceramic works by 32 international artists across 3 locations in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.
LOS ANGELES

Forbidden Fruit

The Future Perfect is pleased to present an exhibition by Chris Wolston at Casa Perfect Los Angeles. Wolston has expanded on his celebrated Lost in Paradise collection with chairs, tables, mirrors, and lamps. Like earlier collections, the work has a puzzle-like feel featuring a constellation of intricate motifs that come together to create an exuberant visual impact.
LOS ANGELES

Forbidden Fruit

The Future Perfect is pleased to present an exhibition by Chris Wolston at Casa Perfect Los Angeles. Wolston has expanded on his celebrated Lost in Paradise collection with chairs, tables, mirrors, and lamps. Like earlier collections, the work has a puzzle-like feel featuring a constellation of intricate motifs that come together to create an exuberant visual impact.
MIAMI

DESIGN MIAMI/ 2018

For this year’s Design Miami, The Future Perfect once again dropped anchor in Florida with some of the most exciting names in collectible American design in tow.
MIAMI

DESIGN MIAMI/ 2018

For this year’s Design Miami, The Future Perfect once again dropped anchor in Florida with some of the most exciting names in collectible American design in tow.
BASEL

Design Miami/ Basel 2018

After three successful years showing at Design Miami/Art Basel Miami Beach, the Future Perfect debuted in Basel, Switzerland, with an ultra-successful design showcase featuring many of the most buzzed-about names in American design, many connected by their unique relationship and loyalty to their chosen material.
BASEL

Design Miami/ Basel 2018

After three successful years showing at Design Miami/Art Basel Miami Beach, the Future Perfect debuted in Basel, Switzerland, with an ultra-successful design showcase featuring many of the most buzzed-about names in American design, many connected by their unique relationship and loyalty to their chosen material.
NEW YORK

Lost in Paradise

For New York Design Week 2018, The Future Perfect presented two solo shows—each new work, each from a distinct voice—in one location. Chris Wolston showed a new collection of anodized and sand-cast aluminum furniture, exclusively made for The Future Perfect.
NEW YORK

Lost in Paradise

For New York Design Week 2018, The Future Perfect presented two solo shows—each new work, each from a distinct voice—in one location. Chris Wolston showed a new collection of anodized and sand-cast aluminum furniture, exclusively made for The Future Perfect.
MIAMI

DESIGN MIAMI/ 2017

For Design Miami 2017, The Future Perfect has presented a small group of process driven designers and artists who create work based on their unique relationship with, and fidelity to, their chosen material.

MIAMI

DESIGN MIAMI/ 2017

For Design Miami 2017, The Future Perfect has presented a small group of process driven designers and artists who create work based on their unique relationship with, and fidelity to, their chosen material.

THE PRESENT TENSE

The Present Tense
ON VIEW

New York Design Week 2018: Charles de Lisle & Chris Wolston

For New York’s design week, The Future Perfect’s Manhattan gallery space was transformed as an exuberant showcase for the new work of Colombia based artisan and furniture maker Chris Wolston and the debut of an extensive new lighting series by Charles de Lisle, produced exclusively by The Future Perfect.
The Present Tense
ON VIEW

New York Design Week 2018: Charles de Lisle & Chris Wolston

For New York’s design week, The Future Perfect’s Manhattan gallery space was transformed as an exuberant showcase for the new work of Colombia based artisan and furniture maker Chris Wolston and the debut of an extensive new lighting series by Charles de Lisle, produced exclusively by The Future Perfect.

Commissions

Chris Wolston is versed in many production methods such as Sand Cast Aluminum, Laser Cut and hand worked Anodized Aluminum, Anodized Shear cut Aluminum, and Rattan, to name a few. In addition Chris Wolston is formally trained as a glass blower and ceramicist. The downloadable PDF is to describe these methods so as to inspire future works and collaborations. He is of course excited to and welcomes the idea of working in new ways. If you have an alternative material or process to propose for Chris please let us know. The below gallery of images shows previous examples of commissioned work.

Click here for PDF

C.V.

Education

2013   University of Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia, Fulbright Research Fellow
2009   Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Glass
2008   Kokrobitey Institute, Accra, GHANA
2005   The Wheeler School, Providence, Rhode Island

Awards & Residencies

2019    HotelTonight & Sight Unseen Design Residency, New Orleans, Luisiana
2018    Urban Glass Visiting Artist Fellowship, Brooklyn, New York
2018    Havana Design Workshop, Havana, Cuba
2015    The American Design Hot List
2014    Fulbright Research Fellow, Colombia, “Methods of Production in Colombian Material Culture”
2013    The Corning Museum of Glass, New Glass Review 34, Jurors’ Choice Selection, USA
2012    Creative Glass Center of America Fellow, Millville, New Jersey
2012    Campos de Gutiérrez, Medellin, Colombia, Artist in Residence
2007    Haystack School of Craft, Deer Isle, Maine Experimental Work with Hot Glass”

Select Exhibitions & Performances

2020    National Museum of Qatar, Qatar Creates, Doha, Qatar
2020    Dianne Rosenstein Gallery, King Dogs Never Grow Old, Los Angeles, California
2019    Design Miami/ Basel, The Future Perfect, Miami, Florida
2019    MESS, The Future Perfect, New York, New York
2018    Design Miami/ Basel, The Future Perfect, Basel, Switzerland
2017    Design Miami, The Future Perfect, Miami, Florida
2017    Fisher Parrish Gallery, The Paperweight Show, New York, New York
2017    Patrick Parrish Gallery, Garden Party, New York, New York
2017    R & Company, Our Flag, New York, New York
2016    Design Miami, Patrick Parrish Gallery, Miami, Florida
2016    Hand Job Gallery, Bongo Bongo, New York, New York
2016    Collective Design, New York, New York
2016    99¢ Plus, The Lamp Show, New York, New York
2015    City Bird Gallery, Jonald Dudd, New York, New York
2015    OFFSITE, Burning Down the House, New York, New York
2015    Museum of American Glass, Creativity Ascertained, New Jersey
2015    Work Release, Aglow, Norfolk, Virginia
2014    Museo de Antioquia, El Barro Tiene Voz, Medellin, Colombia
2014    Plecto Gallery, ESPACIO, Medellin, Colombia
2014    OFFSITE, Dream Motel, New York, New York
2014    Museum of American Glass, NJ350: Through the Lens of Glass, New Jersey,
2014    Paul Bardwell Contemporary Gallery, Mediations I, Medellin, Colombia
2014    Plecto Gallery, Strange Commonplace, Medellin, Colombia
2013    Palacio de la Cultura, Wax, Wane, Medellin, Colombia
2013    43rd (Inter) National Salon of Artists, Bailata Queer, Medellin, Colombia
2013    Chazan Gallery, Hope/Angell, Providence, Rhode Island
2013    Centro Cultural de la Facultad de Artes de la Universidad de Antioquia, You Can Dig a Hole in the Air, Medellin, Colombia
2013    NOHO Next, Hotel Ahn Nam, A Collaboration with Misha Kahn, New York, New York
2013    Plazarte, Launching of Espiga Curatorial Project, Medellin, Colombia
2012    Plazarte, The House is Set in its Own Park, Medellin, Colombia
2011    K-ARTS, Cherry Blossom Live Event by Jocelyne Prince, Seoul, South Korea
2011    The Gowanus Studio Space, Jell-O Mold Competition, Brooklyn, New York
2010    Glass Art Association of Canada (GAAC) Conference, Sonata de Verre, Montreal, Canada
2010    PS122, Vaginal Davis is Speaking From the Diaphragm, New York, New York
2010    Woods Gerry Gallery, RISD Glass Department Triennial, Providence, Rhode Island
2009    Toledo Museum of Art, Cirque de Verre, Toledo, Ohio
2009    Goggle Works Center for the Arts, Cirque de Verre, Reading, Pennsylvania
2009    Corning Museum of Glass, Cabin Fever 2300°, Corning, New York

Teaching, Lectures, Juries

2020    Rhode Island School of Design Furniture Department, Guest Critic, Providence, Rhode Island
2019    Rhode Island School of Design Furniture Department, Guest Critic, Providence, Rhode Island
2018    Urban Glass, Teacher, Hot Casting And Neon Workshop, Brooklyn, New York
2018    Havana Design Workshop, Visiting Artist, Havana, Cuba
2017    Artsy, Panelis, Contemporary Ceramics and Process, New York, New York
2016    Rhode Island School of Design Glass Department, Visiting Artist, Providence, Rhode Island