THE Artisanal Roomscape LABORATORY, a solo exhibition by Clemenstien Love, caps the The GREYSTONE Collective’s Indelible ORIGINS | Place + People series, which has celebrated the identity and creative narratives of The GREYSTONE Collective’s artists over the past six months. Love, who is the co-founder of The GREYSTONE Collective, sat down with Art Design Chicago to discuss THE Artisanal Roomscape LABORATORY and the many ways spaces can impact us.
Q1: Your background is in architecture and interior architecture. Can you speak to the elements of Chicago architecture you’ve drawn from that are showcased in this exhibition?
CL: “I have a love of house museums, and Chicago, first and foremost, is an amazing city for architecture. And two of my favorite house museums in Chicago are the Driehaus Museum and also Glessner House. These are two houses I have visited on many occasions, feeling inspired when it comes to the interior architectural detailing, the sequencing of the space, and the story of the occupants. All of that inspired me with the creation of my home here at The GREYSTONE and with establishing it as a both a home and studio space.
A renowned artist, place maker in Chicago is Margaret Burroughs. Margaret Burroughs’ greystone in Bronzeville started as a house museum that expanded to South Side Community Art Center and later to DuSable Museum. I wanted to create that for artists today.”
Q2: What are some of the challenges and highlights of creating an interior landscape exhibition that audiences are meant to interact with?
CL: “The challenge is telling the story in a way that an everyday person, and when I say everyday person [I mean] someone with a non-design background, can understand. Because for me, design is a collaborative process and for each guest that experiences the exhibition, I see us going on a creative journey in which I’m walking them through the spaces, ideas, and objects that inspired me.
It’s one thing to show the design process. It’s another for one to then conclude by experiencing that space.
It is my hope that for the guests that visit, that they will be inspired to further elevate their spaces, and to really appreciate that home is a place where many of our dreams and our memories are created, and you can surround yourself with that story in your interiors.”
Q3: You refer to your exhibition as a “Roomscape.” Can you define that term?
CL: “A roomscape is an approach to design in which you are fully encompassing the interior environment. A room is defined by four walls, by the ceiling, and the floor. And for me as an interior architect, I see myself as sculpting that interior environment. Sculpting it so that when you walk into that space and you experience it, your eye is traveling up; looking at the ceiling. Your eye is traveling down; you’re looking at the floor. Then your eye is engaging with the three-dimensional elements—the furniture, the light fixtures, and the decorative objects.
Q4: What makes a “handmade home?”
CL: For me, what makes a handmade home is that there is not a single surface in this home that I have not placed my hand on. That really means a lot to me because when I think of a painter, a painter engages with a paintbrush, they engage with pigment and the canvas. For me, it was an engagement with the trim, an engagement with the paint, an engagement with built-in elements. It was an engagement with examining the objects which became the inspiration for the form and the detailing in the interiors. So, it has my hand, it has my mind, and most importantly, it has my heart.”
The GREYSTONE Collective’s exhibition THE Artisanal Roomscape LABORATORY is currently on view through November 2, 2024.
