ETAI x FELIPE PANTONE
Parallel Practices: Tailored Structures and Kinetic Surfaces
The gallery is on view at albertz benda (8260 Marmont
Lane, West Hollywood, CA 90069) until August 8
Photos courtesy of albertz benda, Photos by Mark Garcia
Marmont Lane buzzed with collaborative energy –– and the culprit was clear. As Felipe Pantone
and Etai overtook an iconic home in the Hollywood Hills, also known as the albertz benda
gallery, the town congregated to celebrate the golden boys of their respective fields,
commemorating genius in a gallery of synergistic pieces. DJ Dre Sinatra spun heavy-s aboutoled rap
on the lawn of the estate, backdropped by a view that stretched from Sunset Strip’s Body Shop
to the Pacific. Guests ranged from peers in the arts, to tastemakers of industry and ravenous
buyers of all ages, mingling into a tapestry of the city’s most astute critics. The reception? Awe.
What Etai and Felipe Pantone crafted together transcends their allotted expertise, allowing both
to rise above an already prodigious status into complete stratosphere. One offers the other a
puzzle piece, completing a symbiosis in which the duo builds a world rather than an installation.
And there’s nowhere else we’d like to reside than in their orbit.
Photos courtesy of albertz benda, Photos by Mark Garcia
The dynamic convergence of Pantone’s exploration of color, movement, and visual systems and
Etai’s mastery of design are presented throughout the mid-century property, ensconcing viewers
in this shared consciousness. Though the two study divergent mediums, their common practice
of precision and interrogative craftsmanship unite each piece seamlessly. Pantone and Etai are
joined by a commitment to tradition as a guideline, rather than a constraint— a throughline that
whispers within their more whimsical creations, which remain rooted in tangible mechanics.
Photos courtesy of albertz benda, Photos by Mark Garcia
Uniquely, neither artist is lost in the conversation of a single object. Their individual processes
are maintained, an open dialogue that allows for the translation of another’s practice in their own
language. The mid-century furniture featured was sourced across Los Angeles by Etai, who
then transforms the object in his image. Pantone clothes the piece, using fabrics produced by
Italian textile house Limonata, printed with his designs. The resulting work is a balanced
restructuring of contemporary and classic mechanics, existing within an expanded framework
informed by both creator’s honed lens. In the chaos of kineticism and contrast, harmony in
ideology anchors these two iconic art stars in their most daring work yet.
By Delaney Willet
