For Objective Gallery's exhibition at Design Miami 2024, the Shanghai and New York-based gallery contemplated the title All design is contemporary, if it’s alive. Borrowing words from painter David Hockney, the title is a fitting statement for the curation of collectible designs, which evoke liveliness in their meticulous creation and aesthetic sensibilities.
Made from salvaged Douglas Fir wood, Sam Klemick's Big Wooden Bell Chairs were positioned at the center of the gallery's installation, grounding the booth in their weighted gravity. The chairs reinterpret the designer's signature Bell Chairs, based around a thick frame of hand-turned wood.
Recently, Klemick has shared versions of the chair in varying wood stains and upholstered with secondhand fabrics from vintage floral jacquard to patchworked textile scraps. However, for Design Miami the designer showcased a version of the chair made under her surreal trompe l'oeil methods. Klemick has an exceptional ability to transmute the character of soft fabrics to her wooden creations, resulting in unique sculptural pieces that trick the eyes. While recalling previous work like her Sweater Chair and Ribbon Light, the Big Wooden Bell Chairs take these concepts to the next level in their visual weight and voluminous effect.
The pair of chairs complement the palpable sense of formal individuality and textural naturalism running throughout the exhibition. Klemick's work sits across from Luke Malaney's irregular Trampoline Table and James Shaw's whimsical Modular Mechanics Chair. Elsewhere, English designer Charlotte Kingsnorth's Spider Lamp appears to stand with a life of its own, boasting hairy yellow legs and a flower-like shade. Jeff Martin's Sarcophagus 11 table stands on the opposite wall, combining ribbed stoneware tiles in varying glazes with moments of surprise provided by deviations in form.
Founded in 2020 by interior architect and gallerist Chris Shao, Objective Gallery expanded from its Shanghai roots with a New York City outpost shortly after. Specializing in the rising segment of collectible design, the gallery has been at the forefront of "art furniture’s new wave," highlighting designers, artists and craftspeople pushing the boundaries of functional objects.
See the gallery above for images of the Objective Gallery installation at Design Miami 2024 and detailed shots of Klemick's Big Wooden Bell Chair.
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