Cool Hunting

Sculpting industrial cast-offs into iconic Kimono shapes, there's a great basic tension in Gordon Chandler's work that comes from the tactile differences between his materials and subjects. The contrasts are the natural outcome of his Duchampian use of found materials. "I have a very practical bent," he says, "I use things of very little value and elevate them. I study the objects that we decorate our lives with and reconfigure them in my own language."

Austere yet slightly witty (see "Kimono #1887 (kosher blue)" above right), it's a language we like learning. Anna Nathan Gallery represents Chandler in Chicago and the Massachusets-based Ferrin Gallery curated an exhibit of his work (check out the quilts made of metal scraps) that's currently up at Canyon Ranch Lenox.