Zeke Raney and Elizabeth Farrell
“Color Keep” calls attention to the space naturally generated by a large tree. Situated beneath the generous canopy, a thick wall made up of two layers of cedar posts gives the impression of a fortification or “keep” from far away. Up close, what appeared impermeable from a distance is revealed to be porous. An opening in the fortification leads to an intimate room with walls slanted outward, inviting you to look up and appreciate the tree canopy. Within the wall itself, a colorful steel structure forms a tunnel scaled for children, visible only to the curious explorers who venture inside. The intent is to create a multi-sensory experience for visitors that is engaging at multiple scales, providing an opportunity to interact with the familiar spatial conditions of a tree in new and magical ways.
“Color Keep” was originally commissioned along with 9 other pieces by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center as part of Fortlandia 2019. The design, fabrication and install was a collaboration between TwoPlus Collaborative and MUDLAB, with support from the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture.
Sale Price: $15,000
Artist Bio:
Zeke Raney and Elizabeth Farrell are both architects working together in Marfa, TX. Our collaboration, MUDLAB, is a design partnership focused on residential and natural building projects.
Zeke has been working in the architecture and construction realm in Marfa for the past six years. He holds a BFA with an emphasis in Architecture from the Art Institute of Chicago. Zeke founded MUDLAB in 2019 to revitalize and experiment with natural building techniques in far west Texas.
A licensed architect, Elizabeth lived in Austin for six years before recently relocating to Marfa. She received an M.Arch from the University of Texas at Austin, and a B.S. Arch from the University of Virginia. In 2017, Elizabeth co-founded TwoPlus Collaborative, a design partnership exploring the interaction of art and architecture through the realization of interactive public installations. Recent projects include “Mirror Cloud,” commissioned for TEMPO 2018 by Austin Art in Public Places, and “Blind Spot,” commissioned for Creek Show 2017 by the Waller Creek Conservancy.
