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, 10am–8pm / April 14, 10am–6pm
Opening reception: April 10, 8–10pm
WantedDesign
The Tunnel, 669 West 11th Avenue – Booth B19
New York
May 18–20, 10am–7pm
Press preview: May 17, 5–7pm 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 Tanya Aguiniga MFA 2005, Ben Blanc MFA 2004, Vivian Chiu BFA 2011, Annie Evelyn MFA 2007, Debra Folz MFA 2010, Tyler Inman BFA 2006, Misha Kahn BFA 2011, Conor Klein BFA 2010, Daniel Michalik MFA 2004, Josh Owen MFA 1997, Matthias Pliessnig BFA 2003, Scot Bailey MFA 2012, Taylor McKenzie-Veal MFA 2012, Ian Stell MFA 2012, Yumi Yoshida BFA 2011, David Wiseman BFA 2003, Hyun Yoo MFA 2006, Charles Brill BFA 2006, Theo Richardson BFA 2006 and Alexander Williams BFA 2006.
Visit risd.edu/milan2013nyc for artist statements, project descriptions and photographs. For additional information contact Jaime Marland, [email protected] or 401 427 6954.
About the RISD Department of Furniture Design
The Department of Furniture Design educates 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.
