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"Cabbage" Chair, Designed 2008Designed by Nendo, Tokyo, Resin-impregnated paper25 9/16 × 29 1/2 × 29 1/2 inches (65 × 75 × 75 cm)Purchased with funds contributed by the Young Friends of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 20152015-89-1[ More Details ]

Exhibition

Design Currents: Oki Sato, Faye Toogood, Zanini de Zanine

November 19, 2016–March 12, 2017

Discover the work of three designers who are charting new territories in furniture, product, and environment design.

Design Currents presents the work of three contemporary designers—Oki Sato of Tokyo, Faye Toogood of London, and Zanini de Zanine of Rio de Janeiro—who deftly use handcrafted and industrial materials and techniques to create functional yet deeply expressive objects.

The exhibition looks at the links between context and creativity by examining the distinct culture and methods of each designer's studio. It also shares how their versatile skills, focus on collaboration, and experimentation with artisanal and manufactured materials help shape our experience of the objects and their surroundings.

Design Currents is part of an ongoing series of exhibitions initiated by Collab, a group that supports the Museum's modern and contemporary design collection and programs. This year Collab presents Sato, Toogood, and de Zanine with its Design Excellence: New Generation award, which honors young talents in the field of design.

Collab Gallery, first floor, Perelman Building

Main Building

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Oki Sato, Tokyo

Trained as an architect, Oki Sato (born 1977) founded the studio Nendo in 2002 to focus on product design. The studio's name, meaning "clay" in Japanese, alludes to Sato's playful approach to design. All of Nendo's designs begin with a cartoonlike sketch, which are quickly developed as sophisticated digital renderings and prototypes. This process yields finished products that are minimal in form and highly polished in their fabrication. Nendo objects, which often reference Japanese pop culture or reimagine traditional craft techniques, are imbued with an expressive or even human quality.

Sponsors

This exhibition is made possible by Lisa Roberts and David Seltzer. Additional support is provided by Collab—a group that supports the Museum's modern and contemporary design collection and programs.

Transportation services have been provided by ESPASSO and Friedman Benda.


Curators

Kate Higgins, guest curator; and Colin Fanning, Curatorial Fellow in European Decorative Arts and Sculpture

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