Michele Stueven
Restaurateur Philip Camino’s vision of fusing culinary artistry with visual artistry unfolded with grace at last week’s opening of the new solo exhibition from contemporary sculptor David Troice in the Path Galleries connected to his art-filled restaurant Fellow.
Chef Chris Flint collaborated with the Mexico City-based artist to create a culinary experience inspired by the concept and visual storyline of the Unfold exhibit that runs through January. A collection of those creations will pop up on the Fellow menu during the residency.
Fascinated by origami and unfolding shapes as a child, Troice’s work is composed of steel sculptures that reflect his view of reality by exploring the reaction between light, space and matter. The exhibit references natural shapes that fold and bend into space like tectonic plates crashing to create mountains, and plants growing with the resulting leaves unfolding.
David Troice (left) and Chef Chris Flint (Michele Stueven)
“We spent about two months going back and forth, talking and texting between L.A. and Mexico and bouncing ideas off each other,” Troice tells L.A. Weekly at the opening of Unfold. “I sent him a mold of one of my trademark sculptures and he has actually made one of my pieces edible out of passion fruit.”
Some of the menu items that Flint created reflecting the artist’s sculptures like Moon I, Source I, Ring I, Wave I, and Fragments included:
Carrot tartare with mole and bottarga: “I wanted to plate this bite with geometric shapes in mind with flavors that blend and balance themselves like David’s work.”
Mushroom meringue with parsnip and black truffle: “When talking to David about his experience and memories related to food, he spoke of the meringue and how it brought back memories of his childhood, as they were sold as street food where he grew up. We wanted to do a savory version with mushrooms and shape it in a way inspired by the artwork.”
Sea urchin with coconut and rice: “David speaks to the transformative flavor of sea urchin and how a bite can take you to another place. We use a puffed rice cracker to convey the shape of air and water and season the uni with coconut and lime.”
Foie gras with apples and brioche: “I wanted to use a luxurious ingredient in its simplicity. We use variations of apple cut into diamonds in an attempt to mirror David’s work.”
Passion fruit pate de fruit: “David created silicone molds of his artwork for us to play with in the kitchen. We used passion fruit with spiced sugar poured into molds to create an edible art form.”
Unfold by David Troice at Path Galleries (Michele Stueven)
Sea urchin with coconut and rice (Michele Stueven)
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