ART REVIEW : THE ARTIST BEHIND THE IDEAS

The main space of the handsomely redesigned and refurbished Mark Quint Gallery (664 9th Ave.) is filled with a show that has a long title--”Every Thing (A Small Exhibition of Surfaces and Containers)--New Works by Roy McMakin.”

The artist, who divides his time between San Diego and New York, is, incidentally, co-owner of Inside, which regularly exhibits furniture and objects of the most advanced design for the home.

McMakin’s role in the creation of his own “art furniture” or “sculptural furniture” is essentially conceptual. He envisions the works, develops their specifications and makes working drawings for them, but a skilled craftsman fashions them.

In the tradition of such minimalist artists as Sol LeWitt and Donald Judd, McMakin creates the ideas and a carpenter builds them.

Last year, McMakin exhibited a dozen tables with standardized bases but unusual tops--eccentrically shaped, out-of-scale, mispositioned. And they were roughly painted in egregious hues. Nevertheless, they appeared to refer to the “California Craftsman” tradition and, despite their strangeness, they evinced a homey banality.

McMakin’s new works, which are exceptionally visually appealing, have uniformly immaculate, monochromatic surfaces. In their pristineness, they seem more than ever before to represent ideas. But in the variety of their forms, they represent individuality, and they may indicate a further distancing from what we traditionally regard as functionalism.

Imagine, for example, an upholstered “Green Ottoman” about the size of an overstuffed chair and waist high, or just tall enough to discourage any attempt at sitting on it. Nearby, however, “A Black Ottoman” offers sufficient surface to a reclining figure.

But then consider a traditional-looking “Cabinet.” It has a conventional key and lock. But it lacks a top, so you can reach into it. When you open (or walk around) it, you discover that it has no back. Of course not--a back would interfere with the extension of three shelves there.

“A Tea Table” is another matter. Its only ostensible deviation from the norm is a cut-out rectangle in the middle of its top, perhaps for the disposal of scone crumbs and tea bags--onto your shoes, unfortunately.

Among the other works are a “Display Table With Boxes” permanently fixed to the top; an “Open-Shelf Display Table” with impeded access to its interior; a tall open “Chest” with a box fixed to its top and a drawer that falls out.

There also are smaller works, elegant boxes containing common bottles and jars for floral arrangements and a group of altered photographs.

McMakin’s works, for all their handsomeness, are confrontational. They demand interaction. But they are also playful.

The exhibit continues through Feb. 28.