As part of VDF x Sight Unseen, our second roundup of projects from this year's Offsite Online: Selects exhibition features furniture, homeware and lighting that places the material front and centre.
Selects is an exhibition of singular works from independent designers, presented under the umbrella of the annual Offsite contemporary design showcase by New York design magazine Sight Unseen.
Our first roundup of projects from this year's Selects included hand-blown glass scales and a light modelled on NASA footage.
Now, for part two, we're sharing a selection of projects that features plenty of colourful resin, a lamp made from patinated palm leaves and a chair made from natural denim and compressed paper.
Exhibitor: Ordinal Indicator
Project title: Ridge Wall Mirror
The Ridge wall mirror is propped up by an angular, white alabaster off-cut.
It rests securely within a contoured groove, which creates the illusion of a flawless transition from stone to glass. This also serves to highlight the design's inherent contradictions, as something that is both stable and fragile.
Ordinal Indicator is a design studio founded by Mike White and based in New York’s Hudson Valley. Its focus is on contemporary handcrafted furniture, lighting, and objects made from natural materials.
Website: ordinalindicator.com/furniture
Email: mike@ordinalindicator.com
Exhibitor: Studio Mignone
Project title: Tavolo Morbido
The Tavolo Morbido table is anchored by four balloon-cast concrete blocks, handmade by Studio Mignone in its Adelaide studio.
It takes its cues from the Jumbo table by Gae Aulenti, and is available in several colours and materials in various combinations. The newest designs include tabletops with an ombre colour fade, and concrete-block legs in different shades of white.
Studio Mignone is led by an Australian duo whose focus is on creating sculptural furniture, objects and art using terrazzo, marble and concrete.
Website: studiomignone.com
Email: hello@studiomignone.com
Exhibitor: LikeMindedObjects
Project title: Roll Lounge Chair
The Roll Lounge Chair is an experiment in marrying joyful, luxury aesthetics and comfort with ethically sourced materials.
Its sling cushion is upholstered in natural denim and stuffed with shredded, recycled textiles instead of the petroleum-based foams more commonly used to pad out soft furnishings. The supporting frame is made of compressed paper and wood.
LikeMindedObjects is the creative studio of artist and designer Elise McMahon, who believes that good design is found at the intersection of art, industry, and environmental justice.
Website: likemindedobjects.com
Email: likemindedobjects@gmail.com
Exhibitor: Winston Cuevas
Project title: Palm Row
Palm Row is designer Winston Cuevas' first lighting project, which straddles the line between an abstract palm tree sculpture and an ambient floor lamp. It features rows of dimmable lightbulbs arranged symmetrically with patinated brass palm fronds over a marbled concrete base.
The piece is part of the Natural Allusions collection, in which the designer recasts natural items commonly associated with paradise in high-craft objects.
Cuevas is a New York-based designer focused on creating exceptional, limited edition objects, furniture, and lighting.
Instagram: @winston.cuevas
Email: studio@winstoncuevas.com
Exhibitor: Upstate
Project title: Traipse Pitcher
The Traipse pitcher was designed by Kalen Kaminski of New York brand Upstate and produced by Grace Whiteside in her Urban Glass studio.
Starting on a paper canvas, Kaminski painted emotive watercolours of the piece, which Whiteside translated into glass.
It is part of the Cuesta collection of handblown, sculptural pitchers. Their design pays homage to the colour field paintings of American artist Helen Frankenthaler, and her experimental technique of soaking and staining the canvas while pouring, dripping, and heavily sponging colour.
Instagram: @upstate___
Email: kalen@youreupstate.com
Exhibitor: Another Human
Project title: Psychedelic Shells
The Magical Evolution Collection is the first exploration of glass in the work of multidisciplinary designer Leah Ring.
The first of two sconces from the series, which are featured here, is designed to emulate a pair of technicolour turtle shells discovered in a fantasy rainforest.
Each design the collection is one of a kind and was born from Ring's desire to work with a material that is unpredictable and freeform in nature.
Website: anotherhuman.la
Email: info@anotherhuman.la
Exhibitor: Another Human
Project title: Morning Dew
The Morning Dew sconces evoke an enormous, flower petal collecting multi-coloured dew drops from neighbouring plants.
Like the rest of the Magical Evolution Collection from Ring's Los Angeles studio Another Human, the design are based on imagined environments in nature featuring fantastical flora and fauna.
Website: anotherhuman.la
Email: info@anotherhuman.la
Exhibitor: Martina Guandalini
Project title: Soulmate Vase
Like yin and yang, the Soulmate Vase is made of two contrasting yet complementary halves.
One side of the vertical disk is made of Scagliola, an imitation marble created by mixing plaster with pigments and glue. The ancient material was invented in designer Martina Guandalini's hometown in Italy and is balanced here with a modern, translucent resin.
Martina Guandalini, is an architect, designer, and creative director based in New York City. Soulmate her first collection of collectible design and also includes a series of tables.
Photo is by Tamara Baum.
Website: martinaguandalini.com
Email: ladymartybegooddesign@gmail.com
Exhibitor: Hayden Richer
Project title: Spackle Table
Each item in artist Hayden Richter's Spackle collection is slab built from clay and coated in a mixture of hydrocal plaster and sand.
This freezes the organic material into something reminiscent of a calcified land marker or a historic monument.
In her work, Richer bridges the gap between the sculptural and functional. By mimicking the natural growth and weathering of materials, her work suggests a gradual, almost tectonically slow production process.
Website: hayden-richer.com
Email: haydenricher@gmail.com
Exhibitor: Hannah Bigeleisen
Project title: Pilar and Domo Lamps
Hannah Bigeleisen is an artist and designer living and working in Brooklyn.
Her most recent collection of made-to-order lamps makes use of architectural shapes and elements.
Hand-painted, highly textured surfaces pair with hand-dyed and knotted fringe shades to highlight the ephemeral and playful qualities of each composition.
Photo is by Daniel Cochran.
Instagram: @goddammithannah
Email: hbigelei@risd.edu
Exhibitor: Soft Geometry
Project title: Elio Lamp #8
Soft Geometry's Elio series (pictured top) sees frosted, translucent resin tubes stacked on top of each other to form the basis of a range of different lamps.
The resin tubes softly hold and emanate light during the day when the lamp is switched off and acts as an opaque solid when the lamp is switched on.
The design was created in answer to a photo series studying how light is scattered through dust panes, jellies, and ice.
Instagram: @soft.geometry
Email: hellosoftgeometry@gmail.com
Exhibitor: Ian Cochran
Project Title: Plump Console
This console is the latest addition to Ian Cochran's Plump series, in which slabs of clear, coloured resin are connected with only notched joints, like a large-scale puzzle or kids’ toy.
In this particular design, a bent curve acts as both the table top and leg of the console, to create a piece that is both playful and sculptural.
Cochran is a Brooklyn-based artist and designer, whose work is meant to both inspire and inform.
Website: iancochran.com
Email: i.alistair.c@gmail.com
Virtual Design Festival is the world's first online design festival, taking place from 15 April to 30 June 2020 here on Dezeen.
Sight Unseen is a New York-based digital magazine that covers design and visual arts, as well as curating exhibitions such as the annual Sight Unseen Offsite event.
The VDF x Sight Unseen collaboration presents projects by 51 international designers as an extension of the magazine's Offsite Online virtual exhibition.