"I love fresh ideas about everything". Adriana Siso founded her contemporary industrial design store in 2002 in Santa Fe, NM. With a background in Fine Arts, Adriana has been an innovator, bringing to the Santa Fe area, original and unique industrial design products by some of the most creative design firms in the world.
The first design partners Molecule worked with were Vitra Design Museum, Moooi, Cherner Chair, and other well-known national and international brands. Today it partners with other world-class manufacturers like Vondom, Loll Designs and Moroso.
Molecule operated out of a recycled and renovated shipping container building, the first of its kind in Santa Fe. Currently Molecule is available through the online store and by appointment.
Sustainability is an important area of interest and ongoing exploration for Molecule, which offers product lines with a focus on conservation and ecological stewardship. A recent alliance with the Vertical Aeroponic Growing System – Tower Garden, promises to offer a lot of inspiration in the growing field of aeroponics as the future of agriculture, industrial design at its best.
An Alliance –
At Molecule Design
1226 Flagman Way, Santa Fe NM
Opening reception: 4pm to 8pm, Friday March 9, 2018
Artwork on display through April 30, 2018
Santa Fe, NM (February 27, 2018) — The recently inaugurated Sculpture Union at the Santa Fe Community College and Molecule Design come together in an alliance of shared values and inspiration, featuring works by Union members at the Molecule space. The Molecule Design Store keeps an active annual schedule which features the work of local artists, fabricators and designers, as well as national and international industrial design firms.
The exhibit opens at Molecule Design with a public reception on Friday, March 9 from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm, and runs through April 30. Molecule is open from Monday to Saturday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.
The show, curated by artist Lisa Freeman includes sculptural works in various mediums from 27 SFCC sculpture students. The exhibiting artists are:
Colin Barker, Fairley Barnes, Faye Bates, David Burling, Charlie Carruthers, John Cordova, Laura Fram Cowan, Patricia Daly, Monique de Nys, Rose Driscoll, Stephen Dunlap, Daniel Forest, Lisa Freeman, Martin Helldorfer, Ezra Hubbard, Nina Mastrangelo, Yahne McLemore, Annette Morreale, Royce Montoya, Susan Ohori, Tom Osgood, Dick Podmore, Gayanne Stem Robinson, Spencer Snyder, Touri Strick, Karen Tiliakos, Ken Wilson.
The Sculpture Union, launched in 2016, is a collective group of artists with diverse experiences, ages, and backgrounds, who work in a variety of aesthetic styles and materials. Their many talents are nourished and expanded with the help of the outstanding faculty and excellent facilities at the Community College. Many of these students and SFCC faculty members have exhibited their work internationally and across the US.
Some of the goals of the Sculpture Union are to invite guest speakers, critics and artists to the college, to sponsor technical workshops, to organize trips to visit artists’ studios, and view art collections in other cities and states. The Sculpture Union is proactive in its commitment to reach out to the greater and diverse communities of Santa Fe with cultural programs to meet and inspire local high school students and future artists. One of the important social actions the collective is currently taking involves 13 Union sculptors who are designing, constructing, and donating gates for new homes for Habitat For Humanity.
“Most of all, the Sculpture Union is a collection of students who want to give back to the school and the department. It is no exaggeration to say that the program has dramatically changed the lives of some of us. We feel strongly that the department, with its facilities and instruction, is a gem in our community. We want to spread the word and to encourage any and all people to participate.” Tom Osgood, SU member.
Molecule is proud to share the space with such a talented and dynamic group of artists. The current Molecule Design Store was launched in September 2010 in the new and innovative Baca Railyard District, which is the southern portion of the Santa Fe Railyard project. Molecule operates out of a recycled and renovated shipping container building in Santa Fe, NM. Sustainability is an important area of interest and ongoing exploration for Molecule, which offers product lines with a focus on conservation and ecological stewardship.
“We sell innovative contemporary residential and commercial furnishings from national and international industrial design brands. Some of our offer includes products from manufacturers that work with 100% recycled plastics, sustainably harvested woods, green foams, and recycled cottons, as part of our commitment to sustainable living. Molecule explores and researches design themes including industrial and residential architecture, smart materials, new product offerings, design fairs, and business and technology through InContext – Molecule Design’s blog”. Molecule Design
About SFCC’s Sculpture Program:
With four dedicated sculpture studios, a covered exterior workspace and exterior courtyard, the SFCC Sculpture Program emphasizes pluralistic approaches to sculpture as a means of visual communication. Courses currently offered include forging, mixed-media assemblage, welding, woodcarving, Santo carving, bronze casting, glass casting, and stone carving. Students are encouraged to gain an understanding of traditional and contemporary approaches to sculpture and how it complements other art disciplines. Advanced students have access to private studios on campus. A sculpture concentration is offered within the Associate of Arts in Fine Arts degree. Courses are designed for transfer to university or college studio art programs. The program of study includes options for an internship component, and professional development courses to build career skills.
Red Yellow Orange (Yellow Bar), by Nina Mastrangelo, manipulated, fused, and slumped glass, 8.25” x 8.25” x 0.75”.
The glass pieces by Nina Mastrangelo incorporate many of the same elements as her paintings, installations, and sculptural work.
“The artwork is formalistic in design, inspired by stratigraphy and cartography, attempting to disorient space for the viewer with scale and position, as well as the push/pull of light and dark”. Each piece is a miniature world that attempts to playfully engage the viewer.
Soul Catcher / 2013, by Rosemary Driscoll, 25” x 61” x 21.5”, salt cedar, wood dowels, steel rod and baling wire.
“Soul Catcher’s, a temporary holding place, is traditionally an indigenous healing vessel. In our current riptide of time and place, this piece reminds of the importance to hold what’s precious, and not be lost to ourselves”, Rosemary Driscoll.
Mechanical Bliss, by Royce Montoya, motorcycle sprockets and chains, 25″ x 20″ X 20″.
“The idea of Mechanical Bliss was created through my influence of watching roller chains flow through the sprockets on different types of machinery. As a child watching different types of machinery, it was fascinating and interesting to see how a roller chain is a companion to the sprockets”, Royce Montoya.
Untitled, by Susan Ohori, ceramic, encaustic, wood. 10” x 14” x 5”
Susan Ohori’s current work derives from the lingam form used as a meditation device in the Tantric tradition and is an exploration of variations on that using porcelain as a primary material. “My intent is to evoke the mystery and sensuality of the unknown, to illuminate what is hidden, to make manifest the sacred and the absurd”, Susan Ohori.
Red & Black, by Lisa Freeman, mixed media, 96″ x 48″ x 24″.
“I work with branches, roots, sticks, and trees. I collect these raw materials from the mountains and arroyos around Santa Fe. I often wrap, or partially wrap, these forms with wire or cotton gauze and paint them an intense carbon black. This process de-emphasizes the physical object in order to distill the internal expressiveness of the form. The sculptures flow calligraphically, as the wrapped pieces become more elemental and take on new life. The work may appear blackened and wounded, vulnerable and expressive. A branch, a root, or an arrangement of sticks and roots can simultaneously sensitize us to the exquisite beauty of nature and to the pain of our losses in an intimate and personal way.
In my new piece, Red & Black Gateway, I have included a 4’ x 6’ painted canvas with a tree branch painted black. In this series, I am including painted canvases. This adds another graphic and emotional element”, Lisa Freeman.
Zip It Up, by Touri Strick, earthenware, acrylic & plastic, 14” x 15” x 7”.
Touri Strick, born in Iran, and started her artistic career studying Interior Designer in London. Later she fell in love with printmaking and pursued an MFA in Printmaking at George Washington University, where she worked on the integration of marbling and serigraphy for which she received a Kreeger award.
Touri moved to Santa Fe from California, where she had worked as a Graphic Designer, Exhibition Designer and Director of Visual Merchandising for many years. In Santa Fe she continues to pursue work in sculpture, ceramics, printmaking and mixed media.
Her primary interest is in the cross-cultural expression of color and form on various surfaces. Whether it is work in 2D or 3D she enjoys making art in mixed media, where she creates a relationship between elements that normally would not be compatible.
Adriana Siso, Molecule, Santa Fe, 2018