Commune Shows: Iris Delphine & Chris Kallmyer

November 2 - 23, 2024

Blunk Space is pleased to host its second installment of Commune Shows, featuring new works by Iris Delphine and Chris Kallmyer, curated by Roman Alonso. Alonso is the co-founder and principal of the LA-based design studio Commune, known for its holistic and collaborative approach to design and architecture. The exhibition features hand woven noren – traditional Japanese textile dividers hung between rooms, on walls, in doorways or windows – by Delphine and bespoke wind chimes and doorbells by Kallmyer, made from salvaged wood and metal.

Taking formal and methodological inspiration from modernist sculptors like Isamu Noguchi, Barbara Hepworth, and JB Blunk, LA-based weaver Delphine combines natural fibers with less common materials like paper and copper. The resulting pieces flicker and delight, nimbly crossing the line between functional decorative objects and visual artworks. These noren are directly inspired by the salvaged wood and ceramic works that Blunk is known for, but also follow their own internal logic of color and form. 

Kallmyer, a Petaluma-based musician and sound artist, founded Furniture Music studio in 2021, with the aim of redesigning the sounds of the home. This collection of “sounding objects” are products of his local environment, their raw wood interplaying with gently sculpted copper and bronze, and also of his lifestyle, often created with a particular time of day or viewpoint in mind. 

Both Delphine’s noren and Kallmyer’s wind chimes and doorbells explicitly reference thresholds, even when hanging in the middle of a room, or flat against a wall. While the textiles and swaying chimes are animated by the wind and touch, each object is anchored by meticulous attention to organic materials and aesthetic tradition.