R & Company is excited to announce the opening of Fun and Fantasy, Renate Müller’s third solo exhibition with the gallery. Taking place on the upper level of 64 White Street, Renate Müller transforms the gallery space into a fairy tale landscape. On view are Müller’s latest toy designs that are all unique and delicately handcrafted in her studio in Sonnenberg, Germany. Müller, who has been creating whimsical toys for decades, is recognized internationally as a pioneer of the toy design movement. This exhibition at R & Company follows the success of several recent museum shows and publications on Renate Müller’s body of work.
Working within the traditional craft of toy making, Müller brings a sophistication to her designs with her exceptional use of bold colors and raw materials. She remains one of the last great toy makers from the generation of German artisans working out of the toy capital of the world, Sonnenberg. Müller carries on this history of toy making by reinterpreting traditional techniques and putting her own spin and cheerful perspective in each design. The toys are solid yet soft and the designs are simple yet crafted with the highest level of construction. Each of the pieces has a story behind it and is made with precision, dedication, and passion.
Renate Müller’s toys are also therapeutic in nature and designed to help children with mental and physical developmental differences. By employing tactile materials, visually graphic shapes and vibrant colors, the pieces are joyful and inviting. The sensory quality of the jute and leather material Müller uses, allow for the hand to feel the various soft, cool, and warm textures proven to assist with balance training, hand-eye coordination and orthopedic exercises.
Renate Müller creates a limited amount of toys each year and the pieces in the exhibition are her newest works that have never been shown before. On view is a wild boar family, a mystical double headed unicorn, a voluminous “Hanging Beanstalk” sculpture that is suspended from the 17 foot gallery ceiling. Müller intends that all of her toys are lived with, sat on and played with. This exhibition is one of Renate Müller’s last presentations of her new works and a demonstration of the unique design language she created that speaks to both the past and the present.
Fun and Fantasy opens Thursday, September 13th, at 64 White Street and runs concurrently with Rogan Gregory’s solo exhibition Known Unknown and Forma: Brazil Furniture designs by Carlo Hauner and Martin Eisler.