NEW YORK, NY.- Friedman Benda presents No-Thing, an exhibition curated by Juan García Mosqueda, with newly commissioned works from nine emerging architectural practices. No-Thing runs from January 18 to February 17, 2018, in Friedman Benda’s project space.

No-Thing examines the prevalence of authoritative domestic practices embedded in our collective unconscious that guides behavior towards our personal possessions. Some of these works are composed of a seemingly ordinary construction that relies on the user’s autonomous self for meaning through postulated use. The title alludes to a state of egalitarian “in-betweenness,” a term defined by R.D. Laing in The Politics of Experience—a reference to their makers’ non-dogmatic approach to object creation.

“It is through objects like the ones in the exhibition that the space necessary for the construction of a new self in society can emerge. Not a utopian, idealized self, but an ambiguous figure, uncertain of its destiny; as uncertain as these aporetic furniture works. Within this framework, where the objects truly emerge through affect, one is urged to take not solely a passive but an active role,” says Juan García Mosqueda.

Presented in tandem with Friedman Benda’s ground floor gallery exhibition, Inside the Walls: Architects Design, a survey of important examples of architect designed furniture spanning the 20th century, curated by Mark McDonald. Featuring works by Frank Lloyd Wright and Marcel Breuer that strive for rationalization and demonstrate attempt to assert control over one’s creations, Inside the Walls serves as a corollary to the subjective user experience theme of No-Thing.

No-Thing features new works by Andy and Dave (Brooklyn, NY), Ania Jaworska (Chicago, IL), architecten de vylder vinck taillieu (Gent, Belgium), Leong Leong (New York, NY), MILLIØNS (Los Angeles, CA), MOS (New York, NY), Norman Kelley (New York, NY, Chicago, IL), SO – IL (Brooklyn, NY), and Pezo von Ellrichshausen (Concepcion, Chile).