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Emmett Moore: The Grotto Lounge, 2021

Emmett Moore: The Grotto Lounge, 2021 Image

Past Exhibition

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Part fiction, part reality, The Grotto is an immersive installation comprised of faux coral boulders sculpted into a secluded lounge, inspired by coral rock quarries and the mythology surrounding the fictional identities that form around these places, where the young and the marginalized gather to sequester themselves and share pleasures. The Grotto also takes cues from local sites such as the Coral Castle and the Venetian Pool where the quarrying of coral rock acquiesced to a mystical landscape, and a fantasy Venetian enclave. Each is a tropical fantasy created by man in an effort to transport visitors to an otherworldly place. 

Here, Moore handcrafts each piece with intricate attention to detail, reminiscent of Italian stone-carved furnishing, imbedding each piece with coral rock and everyday objects such as cellphones, car keys, and lighters, contemporary fossils of items one might lose while communing amongst the boulders. The Grotto is part pavilion, part folly, where one can escape from everyday life, and is part of Moore’s In an ongoing investigation into the relationship between art, architectural systems, and human representation of the natural world.

Emmett Moore is a Miami-based artist and designer represented by Nina Johnson gallery. He was the first Miami-based designer to exhibit a solo exhibition at Design Miami/. Moore graduated from Design and Architecture Senior High in Miami and received his BFA in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design. Moore sits on the board of directors of the Dade Heritage Trust, a group that aims to preserve Miami's architectural, environmental and cultural heritage, and has recently completed the construction of a home in collaboration with Arquitectonica in Miami's Spring Garden Historic District. 

Follow Emmett’s work @emmettmoore

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