Wolf-Gordon’s El Muro
Artists from North and South of the US-Mexico Border United for Conceptual Project
Echoes of the Codex de la Cruz-Badiano: A Floating Tapestry of Indigenous Medicinal Wisdom by Blanka Amezkua
Fulgor/Glare by Rodrigo Lobato of Platalea Studio
Frontiers on the Land Are Bodily Frontiers by Camila Apaez
| New York, NY - May 29, 2024 | Wolf-Gordon debuts “El Muro”, a concept-driven collection of digitally printed PVC-free wallcoverings exploring how political borders affect one’s sense of self. As the continuation of Wolf-Gordon CCO Marybeth Shaw’s commitment to elevating designers' voices and catalyzing discourse in the design community, “El Muro” examines issues of identity, culture, and heritage through the lens of seven artists of Mexican and Latin American descent who live and work north and south of the US-Mexico border.
Shaw attended Mexico Design Week 2023 with the goal of meeting creatives whose work emphasized distinctive aspects of their Mexican heritage. Following the festival, she invited artists and designers whose work incorporated a strong sense of identity to collaborate for “El Muro”. The resulting four contributing artists based in Mexico consist of Platalea Studio co-founder Rodrigo Lobato, Ila Ceramics founder Camila Apaez, Tributo founder and creative director Laura Noriega, and GAM Festival co-founder Dyg'Nojoch.
To explore how a shared heritage is affected by residing north of the border, three artists based in the United States were invited to participate in “El Muro”. The stateside creatives include AAA3A (Alexander Avenue Apartment 3A) founder Blanka Amezkua, independent artist Monica Curiel, and TSA NY co-director and LMCC Workspace Residency participant Francisco Donoso.
Specializing in diverse disciplines ranging from painting and conceptual art to product design, ceramics, and textiles, each design was originally crafted in the individual artist’s medium of expertise before being translated into a digital format. For the exhibition, all final patterns and murals have been digitally printed on Wolf-Gordon’s PVC-free type II substrates, mylar, and wood veneer wallcovering.
“The work in ‘El Muro’ provides diverse, multi-layered content for contemplating the persistence and fluidity of cultural heritage. It is also timely for its subject matter relating to national borders and the migration of peoples worldwide. These murals and patterns are about hope built upon a proud knowledge of the past, regardless of the artist’s location south or north of el muro.”
- Marybeth Shaw, Chief Creative Officer, Design & Marketing
Echoes of the Codex de la Cruz-Badiano: A Floating Tapestry of Indigenous Medicinal Wisdom by Blanka Amezkua (New York, NY) honors the invaluable knowledge of indigenous peoples, particularly regarding medicinal plants and their uses. With illustrations from the Codex de la Cruz-Badiano, the first book of indigenous botanical wisdom crafted in the Americas, Amezkua recognizes the advanced knowledge of indigenous civilizations, challenging prevailing historical narratives that frequently marginalize or disregard their accomplishments.
Barro Blanco was created by first-generation Mexican American Monica Curiel (Denver, CO), who credits accompanying her father to construction sites and her mother when cleaning homes throughout her youth as instrumental in shaping her artistic practice. Thoroughly demonstrating the step-by-step labor involved in Barro Blanco’s creation, she draws attention to the countless acts of work that are often overlooked. The background of the piece is created by applying Roman clay to achieve a subtle textural movement. In the foreground, plaster sheets are formed and arranged into repetitive shapes. The piece is then painted and sealed.
Fulgor/Glare by Mexico City-based designer Rodrigo Lobato of Platalea Studio, examines the evolution of symbols in Mexico, highlighting their power, resilience, and adaptability in the face of social, temporal, and historical changes. Lobato focused on elements taken from indigenous Mexican and European religious symbolism. Together the star, the feather, and the rose encourage reflection on identity, memory, and historical-cultural development.
Boundless by DACA Dreamer and Ecuadorian-born Francisco Donoso (New York, NY) was developed from a larger work titled "Boundless Futurity". Painted with acrylic, spray paint, ink, and colored pencil on mylar, the work features Donoso’s signature chain-link fence gesturally situated within a field of color, pattern, and movement. The star-like patterns made within the chain-link fence’s negative spaces invite the viewer to imagine the possibilities that exist beyond borders, limitations, and structures of confinement.
Frontiers on the Land Are Bodily Frontiers by Camila Apaez (Guadalajara, MX) explores the internal movements that may occur when one decides to cross a frontier — whether physical or metaphorical — and the inner experience of leaving something behind. The border delimits a new area or territory while tracing an invisible, sinuous line that divides the “before and after.” The piece is made with clay, oxides and wild local clay engobes, or liquified clays, and was photographed unfired to retain the original colors of the engobes.
Iconografía y Flora Animal by Tzotzil artist and graphic designer Dyg'Nojoch (San Cristóbal de las Casas, MX) features two deer. Many cultures adopt these creatures as spiritual guides, protectors and conveyors of good luck. In his distinct illustrative and painterly style, Dyg’Nojoch incorporates the symbolic elements of this animal with the influences of textiles from the Chiapas highlands, his home region. Replete with color and flora, his work celebrates the joyful and polychromatic cultural festivals of Mexico.
Violet Spring honors Laura Noriega’s (Guadalajara, MX) fascination with Jacaranda trees, which she traces back to the lunches enjoyed in the playground of her elementary school under the flowering trees. The piece’s violet hues consist of superpositioned layers of petals of the fresh flowers and aim to enhance the variation of colors when exposed to the natural light of a sunset or when shadowed. The final design celebrates the color of Noriega’s spring and the healing force of violet.
“El Muro” was shown at HD Expo 2024, and will be on display in Wolf-Gordon’s New York City headquarters (333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY) through December 2024. All patterns will be added to Wolf-Gordon’s Curated Collection and available through WG Customs Lab.
Curated Collection
The Curated Collection allows interior design specifiers to incorporate distinctive imagery from a select group of artists, with the added flexibility of various modification options including size, scale, coloring, and even printing substrate. Curated Collection digital wallcoverings become feature walls in interiors, rendering projects unique and site specific—whether behind a headboard or reception desk, in a customer waiting area, restaurant, or an office space. Working closely with WG Customs Lab, designers can choose from a variety of substrates, including embossed vinyl and PVC-free textured wallcoverings, Mylar® finishes, felt and textile materials, acrylic panels, window films, as well as Wolf-Gordon’s RAMPART® wall protection for high impact areas.
About Wolf-Gordon
Wolf-Gordon is an American design company dedicated to inspiring the creation of outstanding interiors. Founded in 1967 as a commercial wallcovering resource, our high performing product line has expanded to include PVC-free and natural wallcoverings, RAMPART® wall protection, upholstery textiles, Scuffmaster® paint, Wink® dry-erase surfaces digitally printed materials, and now, GATHER® Acoustical. We develop products that are provocative and of our time. Wolf-Gordon Design Studio regularly collaborates with leading international designers to bring fresh perspectives to our A&D clients. Our growing portfolio includes designs by Laurinda Spear, Karim Rashid, Petra Blaisse, Grethe Sørensen, Kevin Walz, Boym Partners, Frank Tjepkema, Mae Engelgeer, Aliki van der Kruijs and V Starr/Venus Williams. We focus on the aesthetic, technical and sustainability issues that are essential to being a trusted supplier to the commercial design industry. For signature, site-specific environments, WG Customs Lab works closely with clients to design and produce custom and digital print concepts. Wolf-Gordon account executives are based in all major markets in the United States.