Rhode Island School of Design to Participate in ICFF + WANTED During NYCxDESIGN 2026

Furniture Design department to present Intrinsic Values at WANTED, a selection of student works that examine the role of furniture in contemporary life and the values that shape its creation

PROVIDENCE, RI  – April 14, 2025 – Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) is pleased to participate in the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) + WANTED at the Jacob K. Javits Center during NYCxDESIGN 2026 from May 17–19 in New York, NY. This year in WANTED at ICFF (booth W981), RISD’s Furniture Design department will present Intrinsic Values, a selection of works from BFA and MFA students that examine the role of furniture in contemporary life and the values that shape its creation.

Intrinsic Values – WANTED Booth W981
Working across diverse materials and processes, these works balance traditional craftsmanship with experimental approaches, engaging dialogues between hand and machine, structure and expression, and function and narrative. Together, they position furniture as utility, as art, and as a medium for questioning domestic conventions, environmental responsibility, and the emotional resonance of material form.

RISD Furniture Design is committed to rigorous making, critical thinking, and the cultivation of distinctive design voices. At the intersection of craft, material research, and conceptual inquiry, this collection reflects the shared values and voices of an emerging generation of designers.

RISD FD Values  Interconnection at every scale 
RISD FD Values Craft as origin, not ornament
RISD FD Values  Metabolizing cultural matter 
RISD FD Values  Objects as records of decision-making 
RISD FD Values  Ambiguity as invitation 
RISD FD Values  Subtle gestures as quiet disruption 
RISD FD Values  Attentiveness to ethics 
RISD FD Values  Quiet gestures, deep impact 
RISD FD Values  Gentleness as methodology 
RISD FD Values  Materials as carriers of memory  
RISD FD Values  Curiosity as a way of knowing 
RISD FD Values  Feminine lineages and shared ground 
RISD FD Values  Contradiction as a generative force 
RISD FD Values  Juxtaposition as a way of seeing anew

The work includes Filet Lamp by Mary Alford MFA 2026, New River Chair by Muhammad Asif MFA 2026, Void Cabinet by Anoushka Chaudhuri BFA 2026, Branch Chair by Elizabeth Che BFA 2026, The People’s System by Jack Crane BFA 2027, Occasional Cabinet by Lieyah Dagan MFA 2026, Screenshot 2017-01-02 at 01.35.00 PM by Russ Fogle MFA 2027, Cart by Andrew Goulet MFA 2026, Cairn by Gregory Kmieciak MFA 2026, Splayed Windsor Chair by Zoe Maxwell BFA 2026, Black Currant Sconce, Wax Linen Box Sconce, and Ash Horn Sconce by Maggie McCreery BFA 2026, Camera Irritants (#1 and #2) by Spencer Graham Peterson MFA 2026, secretary: (c)hair by elle wall BFA 2026, and Ermine Chair by Samuel Webster BFA 2026.

A selection of images from Intrinsic Values by photographer Erik Gould can be found here.

Other RISD Participation During NYCxDESIGN 2026
In addition, RISD Furniture Design faculty member Amy Devers MFA 01 FD, executive producer and host of Clever Podcast, will moderate Emerging Designers Spotlight Live on the ICFF Talks Main Stage on Sunday, May 17 at 4 pm. Alum Jonsara Ruth 92 ID will participate in the conversation Designing Out Toxicity: Toward Healthier Material Futures at The Oasis at ICFF on Sunday, May 17 at 3 pm. All talks are open to ICFF + WANTED event registrants. Register here to attend. 

Alums are also engaged in other NYCxDESIGN programming and activity beyond the Javits Center. Martine Gutierrez 17 PR, Mo Costello MFA 14 PH, and Maia Chao MFA 17 GL are featured in the Whitney Biennial 2026. Furniture Design faculty member Pete Oyler MFA 09 FD will be exhibiting at Paraphernalia: Alien at the SO-IL building (144 Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn) from May 8–22 and in the Flying High, Kite Exhibition on May 30 (Beach 97th Street in Rockaway Beach, Queens from 12–5 pm and film screening at Arverne Cinema, 415 B 72nd Street, Arverne, NY from 8:30–10:00 pm). For a directory of all known RISD community participation at NYCxDESIGN, please visit connect.risd.edu/page/art-fairs-new-york-design-week.

About Furniture Design at RISD
Students in RISD’s Furniture Design department embark on a course of study encompassing theory, skills, context, research, and professional practices. Drawing from a rich tradition, they are encouraged to experiment and work with a wide range of emerging materials and technologies, developing individual voices through the process of making. The program emphasizes the principles and practice of furniture design as well as the social value of art, design, and responsible citizenship. Learn more at risd.edu/academics/furniture-design.

About Rhode Island School of Design
RISD (pronounced “RIZ-dee”) is a creative community founded in 1877 in Providence, Rhode Island. Today, we enroll 2,577 students hailing from 60 countries. Led by a committed faculty, they are engaged in more than 40 full-time bachelor’s and master’s degree programs and supported by a worldwide network of over 33,000 alumni who demonstrate the vital role artists and designers play in today’s society.

Beyond facts and figures, what is the spirit of this community? Through a cross-disciplinary curriculum of studio-based learning and rigorous study in the liberal arts, RISD students are encouraged to develop their own personal creative processes, but they are united by one guiding principle: in order to create, one must question. In cultivating expansive and elastic thinking, RISD seeks to activate a critical exchange that empowers artists, designers and scholars to generate and challenge the ideas that shape our world. RISD’s mission, at both the college and museum, is not only to educate students and the public in the creation and appreciation of works of art and design, but to transmit that knowledge and make global contributions. Visit risd.edu to learn more.

RISD contact:
Jaime Marland
Senior Director, Public Relations / RISD
jmarland@risd.edu
401 427-6954