TABLES, CHAIRS & OTHER UNRELATED OBJECTS SIX
For those who make furniture it is not always the object alone that is pursued. Students of OCAD University are encouraged to explore and develop their thinking around the role of furniture as a medium for personal expression, as a reflection of social and cultural norms, and as an influence upon human behavior. Presented by the OCAD U Student Gallery, this exhibition showcases furniture for much more than its aesthetic and functional existence, but for the messages it can convey.
Presented by Alisa Maria Wronski with OCAD University’s Student Gallery January 2017 Gladstone Hotel Toronto
Special thanks to: Gord Peteran Paul Epp Morgan Mavis Esmaa Mohamoud
and the generous support from: Eventscape Keilhaeur Monarch Custom Ply Artworkers Retirement Society
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1. Licen Zhou 2. Lucas Stanois 3. Amy Jungyun Lee 4. Jasmin Liu 5. Junaid Noorah 6. Kelsi Sorensen 7. Kristen Thomson 8. Bella Ainsworth 9. Topher Kong 10. Claire Hamilton 11. Vivian Liu
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“boucle-01” Licen Zhou A study and exploration of the style in modern furniture. This entryway piece celebrates the ritual of preparing yourself in the morning, to make sure that you are ready to start your day before you head out the door. The seating component is made with soft maple and red oak, stained in a darker colour to give the piece a richer appearance. The clean and fluid shape of the frame leads your eyes the rest of the piece. The colour choices aim to create a homey but chic feeling to the space it’s in. Material: red oak, hard maple, glass mirror, solid iron bar
“Cinch� Stool Lucas Stanois The cinch stool is an exploration of passive mounting soft materials across rigid supports to create a flexible yet supportive shell that envelops the body. Designed to be easily disassembled. The wooden components can be bound in the leather for transport and storage. Employs traditional construction methods applied to modern technologies such as CNC millwork and laser-etching to allow for several variations of the solid wood seat and leather shell. Material: Solid Hard Maple, Vegetable Tanned Leather, Brass Hardware
“Control� Amy Jungyun Lee Chairs are often conceived as an invisible object. It is most likely that static objects can blend away within its context without attention. This project contains two pieces, one that supports the user and the other that supports the object itself. The stool is made of a sphere bottom which encourages the user to balance themselves on the object. It poses a question whether the object is actually helping or mocking the user. The design allows the users to be fully aware of the environment and the object they are interacting with.
Material: Bass Wood
Furniture speaks to the dynamic between the people that use it. Close reveals our tendencies to be drawn towards or away from closeness, both our attraction and aversion to intimacy. Comprised of a pair of moving seats which can merge together face to face or separate back to back to juxtapose connection and disconnection, the presence of two seats implies an interpersonal human relationship, but it does not favour one configuration over the another. This invites the audience to read into the possible arrangements, the interaction between the two seats and relationship of those who might occupy them.
Material: Solid maple, solid cherry, custom steel hardware
“Close” Jasmin Liu
“To Reach & To Love” Junaid Noorah
I am a sculpture student that talks a lot about love and relationships. This idea that I have stuck in my head about these subjects always fascinated me as I want to love and be part of someone’s life, to make myself a means of life for someone else. The idea of reaching plays a big role in my fascination as well, as it symbolizes the love and want for someone or something. When it comes to this chair, it talks about the idea of furniture having its own history and life; what it is to understand that lifeless objects can still communicate to us humans in such a way that creates a bond or a relationship. This chair, part of a set of two, with each having it’s one individual arm that reaches and connects together as it tries to become one from two separate entities. It talks about my relationship and my life experience and what I am trying to personally find and experience.
Material: walnut, baltic burch plywood, cushion, velvet fabric, dark brown trimming
“Exploring Touch” Kelsi Sorensen
Exploring Touch is a piece inspired by Scandinavian minimalism and the act of feeling and exploring the materials surrounding us in the everyday. Form and function were key elements in the design process, however this table also aims to not only appeal visually, but through touch, with hidden details meant to be explored by the hand. A built-in trivet area creates a center point meant to visually ground serving pieces and decorative displays, while providing protection on the wood surface. Exploring Touch also aims to keep our increasingly small living arrangements in mind. In doing so, it folds down to be completely compact in order to facilitate easy storage and transportation. Material: oak, wool, leather
“Quadrant Table� Kristen Thomson The quadrant table is an exploration in geometric relationships. Using both circular and rectangular elements, the quadrant table is a playful form that takes inspiration from modern Scandinavian design. The side bars are both structural and functional as they can be used to hang accessories.
Material: solid ash
“Zag� Bella Ainsworth
The Zag utility cart is a versatile piece of furniture, fit for any space or purpose. Small enough to maneuver from room to room the utility cart redefines storage as a mobile storage unit, so you can bring what you need with you and dictate your space as you need it.
Material: steel, acrylic, rubber
“RO” Topher Kong
RO is a chair, a spirit mixing Chinese and Canadian. Inspired by Canadian artist Douglas Coupland’s “Hockey Night in Canada” side table, the RO chair, created as set of three, were covered with red velvet, black leather vinyl and white fur to capture the Canadian wildness and hunting culture. On the other side, the form is developed from Chinese Ming Dynasty Round Chair and ancient Chinese astronomy theory. By taking the bending decorative element and embedding into the functional chair arms, RO is simplified into a piece of contemporary furniture. Material: cold-rolled steel tubes with powder coating finish, man made fur
“Incomplete Table� Claire Hamilton The idea that a piece of furniture can be left in an unfinished state while at the same time be considered resolved. Half of the piece is built as a wood structure where the parts have been assembled to press into each other in the most rudimentary way, cradling each other like in dry-fit before the glue up, while the other half is an interpretation of the scaffolding that would be brought in to support it. The table top is not fixed and left to slide because it hasn’t yet decided where it wants to end up.
Material: hard maple and steel
“Shiruetto� Vivian Liu This Japanese-inspired chair offers a simple geometric design. Using various angles to construct the chair, the user can recline and unwind. Three grooves have been placed behind the backrest allowing comfortable and easy adjustment. With careful use of Japanese joinery, the chair was composed with elements of minimalism. Specifically, Japanese joinery requires assembly of the joints in a seamless fashion. With use of hard maple wood, the unembellished exterior of this piece is intended to allow the user to embrace and explore versatility. The natural wood and basic structure of the chair embody elements of light and space. Although plain at first glance, the silhouette of the chair complements any living space. Material: hard Maple, veneer, plywood