Studio Drift

Studio Drift, founded by Dutch artists Ralph Nauta (b.1978) and Lonneke Gordijn (b.1980), creates breathtaking sculptures that explore the relationship between humanity, nature and technology. They established their studio in 2007, after graduating from the prestigious Design Academy Eindhoven, and their work comes to life via ongoing collaborations with scientists, university research facilities, computer programmers, and engineers.

On view through April 26, 2020, at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina, Immersed in Light: Studio Drift will feature five works dating from the last decade to today, most of which have been modified for the Mint. Additionally, the exhibition will debut a conceptual prototype of Studio Drifts new work, Coded Coincidence.

Their Fragile Future 3 (2009) light installation is a profound and poetic reflection on the fact that light is the basis and sustenance of all life. Formed of hundreds of tiny dandelion seeds that have been hand-glued, seed by seed, onto LED lights and held together by bronze electrical circuits, the work is a powerful testament to the transience of our life and times. In Twenty Steps is an installation constructed of 20 delicate glass wings that suggest a giant bird in flight. The glass emphasizes the fragility of the moment and of life itself.

A variation titled Amplitude, shown at the Stedelijk Museum in 2018, will be included in Immersed in Light. Drifters, a film by Studio Drift and Sil van der Woerd that features a floating block of concrete as it searches for its origin in the Scottish Highlands, is an exquisite exploration of the relationship between the built environment and nature, as well as escapism.  Representing the performance piece Franchise Freedom, which debuted on Faena Beach during Art Basel/Design Miami 2017, is the documentary film version accompanied by several actual drones. Simulating the flight patterns of starlings, clustering together and moving apart, Studio Drift created an autonomous swarm of 300 drones soaring through the night sky in a fluid, exhilarating choreography.

For more information, please visit the Mint Museum's (opens in a new window) website.