SALVATORE GULINO
The year was 1996. On a cold winter night in Lincoln Park, Michigan, Salvatore Gulino was born on his sister’s 8th birthday. From then on, Sal loved to appropriate anything from birthdays to trash on the side of the road. A curiosity about how things work drove him to study Industrial Design at The College for Creative Studies. There he developed commercial and hand-craft products, and most notably his process of building furniture with found objects. Sal has communicated consumer products in retail sales, repaired products as a handyman in the trades, and built products as an industrial designer in profession. These professional practices have all contributed to Sal's fascination with the art of selling, the craft of fixing, and the design of function; which he distills into his process of building functional works of art furniture.
dryfortstudio.com
sallyg@dryfortstudio.com
@dryfort_studio
Pink Lemonade, 2023 Found Objects, Nylon Fiber 20”x30”x66”
Pink Lemonade, 2023 Found Objects, Nylon Fiber 20”x30”x66”
Green Apple, 2023 Found Objects, Steel 18”x18”x24”
Green Apple, 2023 Found Objects, Steel 18”x18”x24”
Double Crisp, 2022 Found Objects 6”x6”x8”
Double Crisp, 2022 Found Objects 6”x6”x8”
Marshmallow Clusters, 2023 Found Objects, Ply-Wood 48”x48”x20”
Marshmallow Clusters, 2023 Found Objects, Ply-Wood 48”x48”x20”
C.R.E.A.M., 2023 Found Objects, Resin 36”x3”x64
C.R.E.A.M., 2023 Found Objects, Resin 36”x3”x64
SALVATORE GULINO
I am a furniture artist disrupting the ordinary. I seek to disrupt & contradict expectations of common everyday objects through international misuse. Inspired by Dadaism and Fluxus alike, I draw from experiences living in a nonsensical world at an absurd time. Informed by a background in selling, fixing, and building products, I use my experience to explore our relationships with life and everyday items. My work alters these relationships to bring a refreshingly playful experience to the ordinary every day while encouraging a deeper look into current issues in consumer culture.
As a young maker, when I needed a specific part or mechanism, I discovered it was more cost-effective to find the material in the trash or retrofit an existing product's part. I would appropriate out of necessity. Now with the skills and knowledge I've acquired through over a decade of making as a hobby, I've elevated my craft to appropriation out of intention. Moreover, to let my found objects retain their signs of living.
Making furniture from found objects, I highlight to the viewer that function is a subjective experience and means whatever you need it to at that moment. Inspiring people to think outside the box and consider all the ways we're not told how to use things while also encouraging people to be more forgiving of others who have a different way of doing/using things.
While sourcing materials from my surroundings, I get to meet and create relationships with people from my communities. I often pick up an item from someone, and we sit and chat for a couple of minutes. Depending on who it is, I learn something, find a new material source, or find out how small the world really is. I use every opportunity with my community to further my understanding of the relationship between humans and our tools.