Rick Yoshimoto & Charles de Lisle

Opening Reception:
* Saturday, March 11, 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Exhibition Dates:
* March 11 – April 23

Blunk Space is pleased to present Rick Yoshimoto & Charles de Lisle, an exhibition of furniture, sculpture, and ceramics.

In 2013, Yoshimoto and de Lisle met at JB Blunk’s home in Inverness, California, and discovered a shared affinity for clay, design geometries, and a mutual disregard for the traditional boundaries between art, design, and craft. At the time, Yoshimoto was working in Blunk’s studio and there were sculptures and ceramics scattered around the workshop in various stages of completion. “It was the very simple geometries made in clay and wood, the clean lines, the fact that the pieces were both decorative and functional,” explains de Lisle. “I immediately identified with Rick’s work.”

Rick Yoshimoto was born on Oahu and studied art at California State University Long Beach and UC Irvine in the 1970s. After graduating Yoshimoto headed north. Canada was the goal, but he only made it to Point Reyes Station. He started working with Blunk in 1977 and stayed in Inverness for almost 40 years. It was during the first year of working with Blunk that Yoshimoto learned to use a chainsaw and began carving wood. Like Blunk, his practice is an amalgamation of craft, art, and design and his indifference for these categories keeps his work imbued with freedom and humor.

Growing up in rural Massachusetts, Charles de Lisle‘s father ran a furniture factory and the odd shapes and problem-solving nature of the handmade jigs his grandfather created for the shop were early sources of inspiration. He studied ceramics in college and moved to the Bay Area in 1990 to be a part of the infamous West Coast ceramic scene that included Peter Voulkos, Richard Shaw, and Ron Nagle. After finding a studio in Oakland, de Lisle learned how to weld and started working with metal. He went on to design and fabricate lighting and furniture which eventually led to his work as an interior designer.

In 2014, Yoshimoto and de Lisle began to collaborate on a collection of furniture that translated upholstered chairs designed by de Lisle into wood. This exhibition presents the core pieces from their collaborative project alongside new work by both artists. The ceramics, furniture, and sculptures demonstrate the versatility and complementary nature of their practices.