Typically known for curating modern and contemporary furniture, Zesty Meyers and Evan Snyderman of R & Co. have turned their Tribeca showroom into a veritable toyland. Through April 24th, the gallery presents a unique collection of colorful designs: German toymaker Renate Müller’s stampede of handmade hippos, rhinos, elephants, giraffes and more.
Meyers and Snyderman first found Müller’s pieces in shops across Europe, but never available for sale. Owners hung onto them obsessively, even if they had no children of their own. Their curiosity piqued, the duo tracked down Müller at her studio and began a collaborative relationship that has resulted in two New York retrospectives since 2010.
Müller started her career at the Technical College for Toy Design in Sonneberg, Germany, the country’s historic toymaking capital. Inspired by one professor’s vision for large, multipurpose toys that could aid mentally and physically handicapped children in therapeutic settings, Müller combined traditional techniques with her own innovations. She introduced unorthodox materials — jute and leather — to stimulate children accustomed to the softer, more tactile toys on the market. Upon their 1967 debut, her animals were quickly adopted by hospitals and clinics across the country.
Meyers and Snyderman explain how the toys’ details promote “physical activities such as balance and coordination, or investigative play that is informative about material, movement and counting. Children who encounter this exhibition immediately… let their imaginations run wild.” This was more than evident on the exhibition’s opening night, with Müller herself in attendance to greet the offspring of collectors both familiar with and new to her work. Elevating the collection’s value is Müller’s unerring devotion to quality — some pieces took several weeks to fabricate, depending on their complexity and scale.
Discover them for yourself at R & Co.’s gallery on Franklin Street or online on 1stdibs.
