The Grit and The Glamour: James Rigler, Hermit Furniture

“I have called this collection Hermit Furniture, because they are inspired by the Renaissance paintings of St Jerome in the wilderness, which I’ve been obsessed with for some time. What intrigues me is the idea of making furniture with what you have to hand: in Jerome’s case sometimes this is the rocks from his cave. Jerome was resourceful in the wilderness.

I am enjoying experimenting with a more gritty, folksy or ceremonial quality that’s conjured up by the mottled, patinated metal-leafed surface. The objects have a murky mercurial sheen, like old metal that has been left outside in the elements for too long. They feel less cheeky or delicate than a lot of my previous work, and definitely more gothic.” James Rigler

Table: Ceramic, patinated metal-leaf (edition of 10). Height 42cm, width 49cm, depth 51cm.

Shelf: Ceramic, patinated metal-leaf (edition of 10). Height 43cm, width 52cm, depth 24cm. 

Candlestick: Ceramic, patinated metal-leaf (edition of 10). Height 43cm, width 33cm, depth 9cm.

Hermit Furniture was first shown at Bard as part of the group exhibition The Grit and The Glamour in November 2023.