Coarse… What does the brand mean to you? To us, it’s about consistent excellence. Over the past seven years or so, Coarse has released a collection of art toys that is, at the very least, the equal of any other maker. That said, continued success poses it’s own dilemma. What’s next? Not in terms of just new releases, but also in terms of a way forward, a path of honoring a tradition of excellence while avoiding the seemingly inevitable sense of stagnation. Within the past year or so, the answer has come into focus.
Evolution. Coarse’s recent releases have blurred the lines between their art sculptures created for gallery shows and their production art toys realized in vinyl. They’ve pushed the boundaries, both artistically and technically of what 3D art in vinyl can be, of what it aspires to be. 2017’s Ethos series brought us Coarse unleashed. Rather than focusing on the strength of a particular character, on telling one particular story, Cells and Strangers offer a more holistic, abstract approach—quirky, unexpected answers built out of the familiar characters that we know and love.
This brings us to 2018. Coarse starts off the year in jaw-dropping, head-turning, and grin-inducing fashion with States of Matter. The striking and contemplative piece was shown as a glorious high-end sculpture at DesignerCon. Everything about it was consistent with Coarse’s other fine art multiples, high-end, super small numbers (editions of 3 or 5). Yet… here it is in vinyl.
The 15” piece is clearly Coarse’s most ambitious vinyl project so far. Noop appears to float on a translucent blue circular ripple, one foot precariously placed on the tongue of a rather voracious clam-like creature. Often, art and expression is limited by technical concerns—balance, stability, weight. Here, the art seems to wash away the pragmatic. Perhaps this is the line between vinyl art toy, and vinyl art sculpture.
States of Matter will be available in two contrasting yet complimentary editions. The relaxed Trance awash with color (345 pieces) and the darker and perhaps deeper Cosmos featuring Noop beset by Nism (234 pieces). Both drop on Thursday, January 4th 2017 at 7:59 AM PST directly from Coarse for $278 each.
