SLAB is a bench by Samuel Ross from 2022, presented in his 2023 solo exhibition “COARSE” in New York. A long block of Verde Marina granite rests on a frame of painted steel tubing, which refers to the playgrounds of the modernist housing estates Ross grew up around. In his words, “Playgrounds are an early exposure to modernism. The intensity of green shows a dissonance with the object of what public housing was supposed to achieve.” The heavy stone, a material of public infrastructure, sits against the light steel frame, linking childhood memory with a critique of postwar architecture.

Verde Marina granite, painted steel

H 47 × W 225 × D 58 cm
H 18.50 × W 88.58 × D 22.83 in

Edition of 8

Photography by Timothy Doyon