Open Studios: Master of Materials
Author:Lindsey ShookArtist Rafi Ajl breaks all traditional molds
California has always been considered a hub for discovering groundbreaking artists. However, lately there is an exciting deluge of young, talented makers who are producing deeply profound bodies of work in both the contemporary and decorative arts spaces. And recently, Berkeley-based artist Rafi Ajl has risen to the top. “There’s an idea of freedom, and a certain low-level lawlessness and ability to create your own narrative that comes from being in California,” he says. “I feel an ease of freedom to create that comes from that frontier and edge, and being close to wildness.”
For Ajl, the moment of trial and error is where he thrives. For example, his most recent show, Two Bodies—on display at The Future Perfect in San Francisco—presented a mix of vessels and furniture that were created using an entirely new mold-making process and technique. “I think that being distanced from craft’s tradition, and not being steeped in one specific discipline, allows me the freedom to think and experiment,” he notes. “I’ve tested pouring molten metal into molds made from wood, which catch fire immediately. It’s not the way things are done with the traditional casting process. It’s chaotic, there’s a lot of fire, and outcomes are unpredictable.”
Inspired by the philosophies and practices of artists including Omer Arbel, Richard Serra, Peter Voulkos and Alma Allen, he works at the intersection of craft, art and design, with wood playing a central role. “In making the work for this show specifically, I started to get to other places of really seeing materialities, relationships between things, certain movements in the way a glass slumps over, or certain curves, and then fine-tuning and learning to refine and understand them,” he recalls. “I learned aspects that might not have registered in the beginning start to be seen as major possibilities and achievements—there is always room for deeper levels of understanding.” When asked what the show’s title means, he shares, “It reflects a dichotomy within myself, between the technical and the improvisational, the exquisite precision and the open flow—sometimes I feel at odds with myself,” he admits. “Two Bodies shares what has emerged from collisions and opposites: the hard and the soft, the restrained and the sensual, and how they interrelate, influence, affect and interact with each other.”
