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Rhode Island School of Design Presents Risk and Certainty in Uncertain Times During Milan Design Week and International Contemporary Furniture Fair
04/02/2013
RISD Department of Furniture Design alumni
showcase work curated by RISD President John Maeda at Ventura Lambrate Milan
and WantedDesign NYC
The
exhibition Risk and Certainty in Uncertain Times, curated by Rhode Island School of
Design President John Maeda,features
work by RISD Department of Furniture Design alumni, demonstrating how RISD
students transform their educational experience into successful professional
practices. The exhibit will be on view during Milan Design Week at Ventura
Labrate and during International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) 2013 at
WantedDesign.
Ventura Lambrate
Via
Privata Oslavia 7
Milan,
Italy
April
9–13 | 10 am – 8 pm / April 14 | 10 am – 6 pm
opening
reception: April 10, 8–10 pm
WantedDesign
The Tunnel, 669 West 11th Avenue – Booth B19
New York, NY
May 18–20 | 10 am – 7 pm
press preview: May 17 | 5 pm – 7pm by appointment only
The
furniture, lighting and product design in the exhibit express various concepts
and points of view and have been either mass-produced by established
manufacturers, batch-produced or made by the designers themselves.
“I spend many of my days at RISD trying to
relearn what I thought I knew about design; I spend others sharing what I have
learned with the rest of the world. Anything I can say about design to CEOs and
government officials is far eclipsed by showing the work of our alumni in the
traditional form of an exhibition – as presented here in both Milan and New
York City,” said RISD President John Maeda, curator of Risk and Certainty in Uncertain Times. “As a whole, this work reenergizes the
importance of making (whether by hand or machine or computer) and thinking
(whether materially-based or historically-based or culturally-based) and
epitomizes what critical making can achieve for design in this century. We
invite all visitors to this show to rejoice in this new generation of critical
makers.”
“The alumni Furniture Design work on display
showcases the strength of a RISD education, which values in-depth material
exploration and critical thinking to create highly resolved objects,” added
RISD Department of Furniture Design Associate Professor Lothar Windels.
Risk
and Certainty in Uncertain Times will feature the work of RISD Furniture
Design alumni, including:
1 Tanya Aguiniga MFA 2005
Humpback Chair, 2012
aguinigadesign.com
The Humpback Chair is a continuation of the
Chiapas Animal Series inspired by small wool animals made by Mayan women in the
highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. The abstracted animal form was hand-carved and
upholstered with contrasting fabrics to accentuate its two halves. The fabrics
are joined with a traditional Mayan embroidery motif, visually alluding to an
animal’s spine.
2 Ben Blanc, MFA 2004
24K Bowl, 2011
benblanc.com
The 24K Bowl is formed with welded steel
rods and plated with 24-karat antique gold. The intersecting lines create
distinct geometric patterns depending on the angle at which they are viewed.
3 Vivian Chiu BFA 2011
Pixel Chair, 2011
vivianchiudesigns.com
The Pixel Chair
is made of maple cubes laminated together in a brick pattern. The project
transforms the archetype of a chair into seemingly digital pixels, creating a trompe l’oeil effect.
4 Annie Evelyn MFA 2007
Squishy Sticks, 2011
annieevelyn.com
The Squishy Sticks chair is part of a larger
body of work that uses hard materials to create soft upholstered surfaces. This
design combines traditional upholstery techniques with unconventional
upholstery materials.
5 Debra Folz MFA 2010
XStitch Stool, 2012
debrafolz.com
The XStitch Stool utilizes perforated steel as a canvas for more than 40 hours of hand
embroidery work. Investing substantial handwork into industrially produced
materials can yield an object that blurs the line between mass produced and one
of a kind.
6 Tyler Inman BFA 2006
Steel Horse, 2012
The structure and
aesthetic of Steel Horse is as direct
as possible: It ships flat and assembles with a single screw on each end,
making the minimalist hardware its most prominent detail.
7 Misha KahnBFA 2011
Pig Bench, 2012
mishakahn.com
Pig Bench utilizes manmade materials representing
the persistence of vernacular furniture in the rapidly changing American
midwest, where Wi-Fi coexists with log
cabins. It juxtaposes the minimalism of log cabin furniture with creative chemistry experiments.
8 Conor KleinBFA 2010
Ashtray,2012
conorklein.com
Ashtray features 20 cavities for cigarette butts. It serves as a
registry of the past and offers a pragmatic design that helps both organize your butts and remind you that you’re smoking too much.
9 Daniel Michalik MFA 2004
3/1 Chair, 2011
danielmichalik.com
The 3/1 Chair represents simplicity and
material efficiency. A cast block of recycled cork forms the seat, which holds
the legs and back firmly in place through flexibility and high friction. The
chair packs flat and no adhesives or hardware are necessary for assembly; the
user simply pushes the components together. The 3/1 Chair is in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian’s
Renwick Gallery of American Craft.
10 Josh Owen MFA 1997
WC Line, 2012
joshowen.com, kontextur.com
The WC
Line (produced by Kontextur and recognized with the 2012 Chicago Good Design
Award) consists of a plunger
with a storage dish, a toilet brush with a storage vessel and a waste bin. The
design uses functionality and performance as the primary measures to define
beauty. Based on circular footprints, these items relate to one another
naturally in many configurations, never looking out of alignment in their
setting. All items in the line are washable and made to last.
11 Josh Owen MFA 1997
Menorah, 2010
joshowen.com,
areaware.com
Traditional in construction and modern in
conception, the Menorah (produced by
Areaware and now in the permanent collection of the National Museum of American Jewish History) is elegant and functional. The
incorporated plate catches the drippings from the candles and provides a safe
resting place for a used match. It is made of solid cast iron, which provides
the reassuring heft and solidity expected of a trusted household tool.
12 Josh Owen MFA 1997
SOS Stool, 2008
joshowen.com,
casamania.it
The SOS
Stool (produced by Casamania) blurs typological boundaries that define the
acts of sitting, holding and carrying. The two elements attached to the seat
can be used as cup or wineglass holders, handles or hooks. The top surface
features a rim, which allows it to be used as a tray. The SOS Stool is included in the permanent design collections of Centre National d’Art et de Culture Georges
Pompidou in Paris, the Philadelphia
[PA] Museum of Art and the Musée
des Beaux-Arts de Montreal.
13 Matthias Pliessnig BFA 2003
Thonet No.18, 2007
matthias-studio.com
Thonet No. 18 reinterprets Michael Thonet’s classic
bent wood chair design, which had a tremendous impact on simplifying the
manufacturing process of furniture in the late 19th century. To
create the piece, Pliessnig has ferociously wrapped the chair with steamed,
unsanded, unfinished white oak strips until it is no longer usable. An ode to
the simplicity of the Thonet chair, this new interpretation questions
superfluous design.
14 Scot Bailey MFA 2012
Taylor McKenzie-Veal MFA 2012
Ian
Stell MFA 2012
Yumi Yoshida BFA 2011
Granoff Sofa, 2013
scotbailey.com
mckenzie-veal.com
ianstell.com
yoshidayumi.com
The Granoff Sofa
is a flexible seating system designed for a multitude of spaces. In its
complete arrangement, it forms a sofa that can accommodate four individuals.
The sofa can be easily pulled apart to become three independent pieces of
furniture.
15 Charles Brill BFA 2006
Theo Richardson BFA 2006
Alexander Williams BFA 2006
Branch Double Floor Lamp, 2010
richbrilliantwilling.com
The warm
light of Branch Double Floor Lamp(produced by Rich
Brilliant Willing) filters through perforated metal
shades that are attached to bent plywood branches and connected to a central
hub. A variety of configurations suitable for residential needs can be achieved
by using different modular components.
16 Ian StellMFA 2012
Femten Chair, 2010
ianstell.com
With a number of
elements that pivot around a central plane, the Femten Chair can assume several configurations and be turned inside
out. It can also fold completely flat to create an abstract image.
17 David Wiseman BFA 2003
Tufted + Facet Vase, 2012
dwiseman.com
The Tufted + Facet
Vase is part of a bronze
vase series exploring form and texture. Drawings of faceted glacial landscapes
evolved into three-dimensional objects. Each individual object highlights and
refines the processes of faceting, tufting, carving, scarring, patinating and
polishing.
18 Hyun
Yoo MFA 2006
Terra Cotta Vessels, 2010
hyunyoo.com, oom.bigcartel.com
Inspired by simple, utilitarian terra cotta herb pots, Terra Cotta Vessels (produced by OOM) feature a streamlined design and thin, delicate walls. The contrast between
the clear, glossy finish on the inside and the smooth outer surface transforms
these vessels into sophisticated objects.
About Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode
Island School of Design (RISD) has earned
a reputation as the world’s preeminent college of art and design. Founded in
1877, RISD includes the College and the Museum of Art which houses a
world-class collection of works spanning from ancient times to the present.
Degree offerings include 16 undergraduate and 17 graduate programs in fine
arts, architecture and design, and art education.
Approximately
2400 students and 350 faculty and curators comprise a community drawn from more
than 44 countries. The mission of RISD, through its college and museum, is to
educate its students and the public in the creation and appreciation of works
of art and design, to discover and transmit knowledge and to make lasting
contributions to a global society through critical thinking, scholarship and
innovation.
About the RISD Department of Furniture Design
The Department of Furniture Designeducates students in a broad range of
design areas delineated as FORM – furniture, objects, research and materials.
Students develop their ability to conceptualize and realize their vision by
designing and building objects to scale using a wide variety of materials.
Through the department’s sequenced curriculum, they investigate emerging
challenges posed by technology, materials, economic and ecological conditions
and changes in societal patterns.
About Ventura Lambrate
The Salone del
Mobile is the most important design & furniture fair in the world. Every
April, it announces the start of the new design year.In 2010, Organisation
in Design succeeded in the realization of their new project: Ventura
Lambrate, a new area for design in Milan, during the period of the Salone del
Mobile. Ventura Lambrate offers the new and exciting possibilities which
the design world asked for. The main focus is on: creativity, quality,
experimentation, and content. Ventura Lambrate shows renowned established
designers, emerging young designers, creative labels, interesting initiatives,
small surprises and exciting presentations. With Ventura Lambrate we challenge
both the public, professionals and press by qualitative presentations,
interesting exhibitions, inspiring ideas and new designs.
About WantedDesign
WantedDesign is a creative
destination for the design community with innovative installations, student
workshops, engaging discourse and more. Building from the success of
WantedDesign’s successful debut in 2011, and amazing programming and attendance
in 2012, the third edition will feature a strongly curated exhibition of international
designers along with a rich conversation series, design workshops, a pop-up
store, convivial lounges and more. Located in the landmark Terminal Stores
building on 11th Avenue between 27th and 28th streets, and featuring high
ceilings, exposed brick walls and unique architectural details, WantedDesign
offers participants and visitors alike with a unique and dynamic international
design experience. WantedDesign is the meeting point for designers,
manufacturers, industrials, craftsmen, students, design institutions, the press
and all design lovers. WantedDesign is also playing a strong role, with our
partners, to make NYCxDESIGN more dynamic and transform New York into a real
design destination.
High-res digital images are
available for download at risd.edu/milan2013nycor by contacting Jaime Marland, jmarland@risd.edu or
401.427.6954
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