Exhibitions

Subterms

    More stories

    • 113 Shares119 Views

      in Rooms

      San Francisco exhibition features “off-center” Bay Area furniture design

      by

      Stools from local designer Caleb Ferris and design firm Prowl Studio were among the works displayed at a San Francisco exhibition centred around contemporary Bay Area design.

      The Works in Progress show displayed stools, chairs and other furniture from local designers to highlight the diversity in methods and backgrounds of an evolving Bay Area design scene.
      The recent Works in Progress exhibition held in San Francisco highlighted Bay Area designers”As the Bay Area creative scene evolves in real-time, there are boundless possibilities for how it might bloom,” said curators and designers Kate Greenberg, Kelley Perumbeti, and Sahra Jajarmikhayat in a statement. 
      “For now, we are here to acknowledge its depth and say: it’s a work in progress.”
      Caleb Ferris showed a duck-footed poplar stoolThe team distributed the exhibition’s pieces across metallic platforms supported by foundations of bricks.

      Pieces ranged from a curvacious, duck-footed poplar wood stool marked with paint and silver leaf by Caleb Ferris, to Prowl Studio’s cubic stainless steel stool wrapped in a 3D knit cover.
      Prowl Studio wrapped a stainless steel stool in a 3D knit cover”Across a range of materials, forms, and functions, the participants have found a groove in the original, the introspective, and the off-center,” said the team. 
      Designer Ido Yoshimoto displayed a sculptural side table made of old-growth redwood and finished in a dark red textured hue. The table consists of a geometric, curved corner that runs into a darkened raw edge.
      Designer Ido Yoshimoto showed a sculptural old-growth redwood side table with a raw edgeStudio Ahead created a fuzzy Merino wool stool informed by northern California rock formations, which contrasted with the smooth surface of a glass stool by curators Jajarmikhayat and Greenberg.
      Other works included a baltic plywood side table with grooved sides and small, chunky sky blue legs by NJ Roseti and a white oak chair topped with a wild fleece and suede cushion by Rafi Ajl of studio Long Confidence.

      Bendable battery among sustainable materials at San Francisco exhibition

      Office of Tangible Space showed a flat-legged chair designed in collaboration with CNC design studio Thirdkind Studio, while Duncan Oja of Oja Design displayed a charred white oak stool with an organic, rough-sawn profile.
      Fyrn Studio showed a charcoal-black hardwood stool with aluminium hardware created with replaceable parts and studio Medium Small and designer Yvonne Mouser both displayed chairs made of ash, one blackened and the other not, supported by bases of elegant, simple lines.
      Studio Ahead and Kate Greenberg and Sahra Jajarmikhayat made stools with rock-like forms”As simple as it sounds, the soul of this exhibition is in the representation of physical craft and the people behind it. It’s important to shine a light on this vibrant slice of the Bay Area that is not always as visible amidst a city focused on the digital realm,” said Perumbeti.
      “There’s something really exciting brewing in this community that is just beginning to get teased out,” said Greenberg.
      NJ Roseti created a baltic plywood side table supported by light blue cubic legsWorks in Progress was part of the wider San Francisco Art Week, which highlights art and design from the city and took place from 13-21 January.
      Other recent furniture exhibitions that highlighted California designers include INTRO/LA with pieces by Adi Goodrich and Sam Klemick and the first Miami edition from Milan-based design exhibition Alcova held in a motel during Miami’s art week.
      Works in Progress took place at the American Industrial Center in San Francisco from 18 to 23 January 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for more architecture and design events around the world.
      The photography is by Sahra Jajarmikhayat unless otherwise stated. 

      Read more: More

    • 125 Shares169 Views

      in Rooms

      Es Devlin reveals “miniature parallel practice” for New York exhibition

      by

      Student drawings, scale models, and a life-size recreation of set designer Es Devlin’s London studio are on display at an exhibition exploring the designer’s 30-year archive at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

      Presented in conjunction with her debut monograph, An Atlas of Es Devlin, both exhibition and publication showcased sketches, paintings, small-scale work and more behind 120 projects spanning Devlin’s career in set design.
      An exhibit exploring Es Devlin’s career is on display at the Cooper Hewitt. Photo and top photo by Jason West”My craft is to imagine worlds that don’t yet exist, to invite audiences to practice ‘interbeing’ within psychological architectures they have not previously inhabited, to remind viewers that they are not separate but connected to one another and to the biosphere,” said Devlin.
      “For this exhibition, I have gathered the drawings, fragile paper sculptures and small-scale revolving cardboard models that I and my studio team have been making over the past three decades, a miniature parallel practice at the root of the large-scale public performance and installation works.”
      It coincides with the publishing of a monograph of the set designer’s workVisitors entered the exhibit via a recreation of Devlin’s London office, where they could sit at a central table scattered with paper and art tools representative of works in progress.

      Devlin’s voice narrated thoughts about early school days, belonging, and the intersection of creative disciplines as projections animate the space, with scribbles and writings appearing on the table’s pages and along the walls.
      The exhibit combines projections and audio recordings with scale models, sketches and notes from the designer’s life”The first thing I wanted to do was to invite visitors into my studio,” said Devlin. “Many of the people coming into this exhibition will not have a clue what it is I do or what are the processes that go into it at all.”
      “You come into the studio and already I hope you get the sense I had when I first walked into a room full of people making work like this.”
      Visitors enter through a replica of Es Devlin’s London studio before entering rooms displaying her creative process. Photo by Elliot Goldstein | Smithsonian InstitutionA projection of Devlin’s hands pulled an entryway open to the adjoining room, where Devlin’s Iris installation displayed the names of her many collaborators on a series of rings, a motif the designer often uses to “express the overlaid perspectives of creative partners and audiences”.
      The next installation displayed a wall covered in early sketches, paintings, collages, and diaries Devlin produced during her years at a music school and in her early career, which she noted were delivered to her later in life in “four big black beanbags” by an old boyfriend who had kept them.
      Both the exhibit and monograph showcase the creative process behind some 120 showsWhite, scale models of set and production designs made by Es Devlin Studio were displayed throughout succeeding rooms, accompanied by process sketches, documents and notes that include mark-ups on song lyrics by musicians Miley Cyrus, U2, The Weeknd, Beyoncé and more.
      Devlin noted that her work often begins with analyzing a “primary text” like pop-song lyrics or play before delving into further research.
      Scale models of set and production design are on display”I have spent 30 years translating words into images and spaces – transforming texts on a page into kinetic sculptures that encompass viewers with light and song and use magic to alter their perspective,” Devlin said.
      Another room contained a model theatre with a screen on its stage that displayed films of previous performances, while another displayed short films from Devlin’s various installations.

      Las Vegas Sphere represents the “iPhone-ification” of tour design says Es Devlin

      The last had a large table in which a number of Devlin’s monographs were displayed for visitors to thumb through, with pages of the recent book pinned along the walls.
      “The biggest challenge was to make the book,” Devlin told Dezeen “The book and the exhibit are kind of continuous of one another. Normally, my practice is a small group of people in my studio, resonating out to wider groups.”
      Unseen student work by Devlin also features”But this was the opposite centripetal force of drawing everything into a really small series of rooms, and a small object, the book. It’s the inverse of what I normally do.”
      According to the designer, the book-making process took nearly seven years and was edited by Cooper Hewitt associate curator of contemporary design Andrea Lipps, who also curated Devlin’s exhibit.
      Dezeen recently spoke with Es Devlin on her career, her work on the Sphere and more in an exclusive interview.
      The photography is courtesy Es Devlin Studio unless otherwise noted.
      An Atlas of Es Devlin will take place at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York from 18 Nov to 11 August 2024. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
      Project credits:Exhibition design: Es Devlin StudioCurator: Andrea LippsCuratorial assistant: Julie PastoCuratorial interns and fellows: Madelyn Colonna, Bailey de Vries, Barbara Kasomenakis and Sophie ScottDesigners of record and fabrication: Pink SparrowGraphic design: Morcos KeyProjection and video design: Luke Halls StudioComposition and sound design: PolyphoniaLighting design: Bruno Poet and John ViestaAudiovisual production and integration: AV&C

      Read more: More

    • 100 Shares119 Views

      in Rooms

      Medprostor stacks firewood for Ljubljana design biennial exhibition

      by

      Firewood logs were used as modular stackable elements for the scenography of the BIO27 Super Vernaculars design biennial in Ljubljana, Slovenia, which has been shortlisted for a 2023 Dezeen Award.

      Curated by Jane Withers, the 27th edition of the city’s design biennial took place at the Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO) in the summer of 2022.
      Firewood was stacked in various ways to stage the BIO27 Super VernacularsThe four-month presentation explored how designers and architects are adapting vernacular traditions and value systems to respond to contemporary challenges like water scarcity, waste and declining biodiversity.
      Similarly, the brief for the exhibition design was to rethink classic parameters and consider sustainability in the context of a temporary show.
      The firewood bundles were used to display various design projects throughout MAOSlovenian architecture studio Medprostor chose to create the scenography from a readily available, locally sourced material that could be entirely reused at the end of the show.

      “Walls, planes, piles and lines of firewood are a part of the Slovenian visual landscape, as almost 59 per cent of the country is forested,” said Medprostor.
      “By only using the standard logs and non-invasive stacking and binding methods, all the material was returned to the supplier for further resale and use.”
      The logs were pre-cut to standard lengths so they could be reusedPre-cut to standard lengths, the logs were oriented vertically and bound together to create tables and platforms of varying heights and sizes throughout the exhibit areas.
      Some of the logs were notched in their tops to hold photographs and texts mounted on honeycomb cardboard sheets, which also formed flat horizontal surfaces for displaying items by participating designers.
      Photos mounted onto honeycomb cardboard were placed in notches on top of the logsBundles were also laid on their sides to act as low-lying display podiums for larger pieces.
      “The aim was to explore ways of stacking wood that are based in traditional techniques but can at the same time support new shapes and methods that evoke a sense of contemporaneity,” Medprostor said.
      Orange and grey straps recycled from the shipping industry were used to bind the logsThe grey and orange straps used to bind the wood and to hang cardboard panels from the ceiling were reused from the shipping industry.
      A few panels also incorporated video screens or served as a backdrop for projections, adding another medium through which the curated projects could be articulated.

      Daisuke Yamamoto presents recycled steel chairs under Milan railway arch

      Medprostor collaborated with graphic designers Studio Kruh and AA to continue the low-impact approach to the exhibition graphics and signage, which were primarily printed on-site at the museum.
      Additionally, the firewood was able to extend its drying process for the duration of the biennial, making it more energy-efficient when finally used as fuel, according to the studio.
      Hanging panels incorporated video screens and were used as projector backdrops”The drier the wood, the higher heating value and better environmental footprint it has,” Medprostor said. “While in the museum, logs can dry additionally and be returned to the supplier for further resale with a better ecological footprint.”
      “The museum becomes a part of the process of curing the wood.”
      All of the firewood was returned to the supplier when the exhibition endedThe BIO27 Super Vernaculars scenography has been shortlisted in the exhibition design category of the 2023 Dezeen Awards, along with a shrink-wrapped exhibition design by Didier Faustino and a showcase of recycled steel chairs by Daisuke Yamamoto.
      The awards will be presented during a ceremony and party in London on Tuesday 28 November 2023, with creative direction by The Unlimited Dream Company.
      The photography is by Ana Skobe and Klemen Ilovar.
      BIO27 Super Vernaculars took place at the Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO), Ljubljana, Slovenia from 26 May to 29 September 2022. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
      Project credits:
      Location: Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO), Ljubljana, SloveniaExhibition design: Medprostor: Rok Žnidaršič, Jerneja Fischer Knap, Katarina Čakš, Teja GorjupGraphic design: Studio Kruh + AACurator: Jane WithersAssistant curator: Ria HawthornBIO27 director: Anja Radović

      Read more: More

    • 163 Shares159 Views

      in Rooms

      Traditional design techniques are “alive and well” in Le Salon de Septembre exhibition

      by

      Old and new blurred together in this exhibition at Paris’ GSL Gallery, which celebrated contemporary creatives who observe design traditions of the past.

      Le Salon de Septembre was the inaugural exhibition to be held at GSL Gallery, a factory-turned-arts space in Paris’ Patin neighbourhood run by creative collective The Guild of Saint Luke.
      Guided by the motto “Remastering The Past”, the collective thought it fitting for the show to highlight the fact that traditional design techniques are “very much alive and well”.
      The exhibition showcases contemporary designers who observe design traditions of the past”These techniques are being adopted by young avant-garde artists and designers around the world to create new forms that can also be read in the context of decorative art history,” the collective’s founder, John Whelan, told Dezeen.
      “This is a subjective opinion but I think that artworks and design pieces that reference the past are drawing upon our roots, the very foundation and life force of our culture – works that attempt to break free from the past can often look ‘deracinated’ and meaningless despite their valiant effort to create a new language.”

      Pieces include this stainless steel daybed by Olivia BossyA mix of established and emerging creatives contributed pieces to the exhibition, which was curated by Whelan and interior architect Edgar Jayet.
      On the gallery’s ground floor, an ebonised blackwood and stainless steel daybed by Australian designer Olivia Bossy sat beside a lustrous aluminium lamp from designer Max Copolov.
      This drew on the work style of Weiner Werkstätte – a modernist Austrian design studio established in 1903 by painter Koloman Moser, the architect Josef Hoffmann and patron Fritz Waerndorfer.
      A glass vitrine contains a curule-style stool by Edgar Jayet and a 19th-century bento boxA glass vitrine in the same room contained an ornate bento box from 19th-century Japan and a raw aluminium stool by co-curator Jayet.
      This offered a reinterpretation of the curule seat, used in Ancient Rome by powerful magistrates.

      GSL Gallery takes over disused Parisian factory with “punk” interiors

      Upstairs on the gallery’s mezzanine, a chair by Seoul-based designer Kim Byungsub was on display.
      While its seat was made from hairline-finish steel, its backrest featured najeonchilgi: a historic Korean handicraft technique in which mother-of-pearl motifs are inlaid into lacquered surfaces.
      The gallery’s mezzanine featured this najeonchilgi chair by Kim ByungsubOther items on this level included a walnut-veneer lounger by London-based artist EJR Barnes, designed to emulate “turn-of-the-century European grandeur”.
      There was also a blackened ash, steel, and felt-laminate suspension light by London-based designer Joe Armitage, which took its cues from a floor lamp created in 1952 by his grandfather, architect Edward Armitage.
      Nearby is a walnut-veneer lounger by EJR BarnesAn array of paintings, prints and reliefs served as a backdrop to the pieces in the gallery. These nodded to the exhibition design of the 1903 edition of Salon d’Automne, an art show that takes place in Paris every year.
      “My co-curator Edgar Jayet and I were particularly interested by the avant-garde spirit of the original Salon d’Automne, which was controversial in its day, showing the Fauvists, Cubists and Futurists, as well as Charlotte Perriand and Le Corbusier in design,” explained Whelan.
      “Archival images of the original exhibition in 1903 heavily influenced our scenography, with an ebonised oak vitrine and shelf above which artworks are hung in a ramshackle, fin-de-siecle style.”
      This suspension light by Joe Armitage also comes as part of the exhibitionLike Salon d’Automne, Le Salon de Septembre will now become an annual event at GSL Gallery.
      “We hope to provide an annual snapshot of the zeitgeist in art and design, showing artists and designers that explore heritage as a means of contemporary inspiration,” concluded Whelan.
      Prior to opening GSL Gallery at the beginning of 2023, The Guild of Saint Luke specialised in reviving historic interiors and designing new ones.
      Previous projects include Nolinski, an art deco-style eatery in the French capital, and Maison Francois, a chic brasserie in London that riffs on Ricardo Bofill’s architecture.
      The photography is by Celia Spenard-Ko. 
      Le Salon de Septembre took place at 27 Rue Jacques Cottin, Pantin, Paris, from 15 September to 6 October. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

      Read more: More

    • 125 Shares119 Views

      in Rooms

      Daisuke Yamamoto presents recycled steel chairs under Milan railway arch

      by

      Japanese designer Daisuke Yamamoto presented recycled steel chairs on podiums of the same material as part of an exhibition in Milan, which has been shortlisted for a 2023 Dezeen Award.

      Yamamoto’s Flow project explores ways to minimise industrial waste by focusing on a single material – light-gauge steel (LGS).
      Daisuke Yamamoto presented his Flow chairs as part of the Dropcity showcaseCommonly used in construction as a strong, lightweight framing option, LGS is also one of the industry’s largest waste products, Yamamoto claims, as it is rarely recycled after demolition.
      The designer therefore chose to create a second life for the steel sheets and components as a series of sculptural chairs.
      The chairs were placed on podiums made from the same light-gauge steelHe also used LGS to form platforms for showcasing the seating designs as part of an exhibition at Milan design week 2023 that has been shortlisted in the exhibition design category of this year’s Dezeen Awards.

      “This project began with the awareness that everyday recycled construction materials are disposed of, then new construction begins – a so-called ‘scrap and build’,” Yamamoto said.
      Each of the recycled steel chairs had a different form”Using the iconic LGS material – one of the most popular materials normally used in framing systems throughout the interior wall structure – we transformed it into beautifully redesigned furniture, giving the materials a second chance,” he added.
      The exhibition formed part of the Dropcity showcase, which took place inside the Magazzini Raccordati spaces at Milan Central Station during the design week in April.
      A workshop bench was also placed at the centre of the spaceThese empty railway arches have a dilapidated, industrial aesthetic with peeling floors, stained tilework and exposed utilities.
      Yamamoto chose to leave the vaulted room largely as he found it but placed a series of platforms in two rows, upon which he presented the series of chairs.

      Six key trends from Milan design week 2023

      Track lighting was installed overhead to spotlight the elevated designs, each of which has a slightly different shape.
      In the centre of the exhibition, a workshop bench also built from lightweight gauge steel was used to fabricate more chairs during live demonstrations between Yamamoto and craft artist Takeo Masui.
      Yamamoto and Takeo Masui built more recycled steel chairs during live demonstrations”This is a landfill, a place where a volume of used LGS is collected,” Yamamoto said. “A place where the designer and craftsmen work hand in hand to recreate what was bound to be disposed into something new, a process of disassembling to re-assemble.”
      The intention was to not only showcase the material’s capabilities for reuse but also to allow visitors to engage with the process and ask wider questions about how society deals with waste.
      The demonstrations allowed visitors to engage with the processUsing waste materials produced by other industries was a key trend that Dezeen spotted during this year’s Milan Design Week, with designers and studios including Formafantasma, Prowl Studio, Atelier Luma and Subin Seol all looking to reduce the environmental impact of their products.
      The photography is by Takumi Ota.
      Future Landfill took place at Magazzini Raccordati from 15 to 23 April 2023 as part of Milan Design Week. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

      Read more: More

    • 113 Shares159 Views

      in Rooms

      D/Dock creates immersive exhibition space inside 19th-century Amsterdam gasworks

      by

      Creative studio D/Dock has transformed a hall inside Amserdam’s former Westergasfabriek gasworks into Fabrique des Lumières – billed as the largest immersive art centre in the Netherlands.

      Commissioned by Parisian company Culturespaces, D/Dock’s design and build team transformed the double-height 3,800-square-metre hall into an exhibition space where bright, colourful artworks are projected across the floor and walls.
      D/Dock transformed a gasworks hall into an immersive exhibition spaceThe space can be adapted through the use of movable seating and adjustable sound and light systems to suit the needs of various exhibitions on everything from space travel to the work of architect Antoni Gaudí.
      “[The space] serves as a versatile canvas set against an industrial backdrop, where over 100 projectors and speakers transform the venue into dynamic worlds, from a lively jungle to an interstellar journey or an evocative art gallery, offering a spectrum of cultural and sensory experiences adaptable to various exhibitions,” managing director of D/Dock Sven Butteling told Dezeen.
      The 17-metre-tall exhibition space has a viewing platform and moveable seatingTo achieve a continuous space suitable for light projections, any openings of the 1885 building were closed up with cladding and painted to blend in with the existing brick interior.

      Taking advantage of the building’s height and scale, an internal staircase wraps around the rear facade and leads to a raised platform providing views of the main space.
      Newly built elements echo the building’s industrial heritageTwo newly built pavilions provide more enclosed immersive experiences within the main exhibition space while also operating as projection surfaces in the main hall.
      Among them is the mirror pavilion, which D/Dock clad in mirrored panels and shiny flooring tiles to create “an infinite projection space”.

      Paris’ first digital museum of fine art finds home in 19th-century foundry

      During construction, the building’s interior was carefully restored to maintain its industrial character, with the addition of newly built and digital elements creating a contemporary arts centre that blends the old and new.
      The addition of lightweight insulation on the roof and windows, as well as acoustic and fire-rated doors, helped to enhance the energy performance of the hall.
      Pavilions provide enclosed immersive spaces for visitorsD/Dock is a creative studio of architects, artists, designers and engineers based in Amsterdam.
      Fabrique des Lumières has been shortlisted in the architectural lighting design category of the Dezeen Awards 2023. Also in the running is the glowing facade that ArandaLasch created for a Dior store outside of Doha, Qatar.
      The photography is by Ossip van Duivenbode, Marijn van Laerhoven and Eric Spiller.

      Read more: More

    • 113 Shares169 Views

      in Rooms

      Didier Faustino creates shrink-wrapped scenography for Paula Rego exhibition

      by

      French-Portuguese architect Didier Faustino has shrink-wrapped a series of wooden blocks to display paintings by the late artist Paula Rego as part of an exhibition in Hanover, Germany.

      The unusual scenography was created for the exhibition titled Paula Rego: There and Back Again at the Kestner Gesellschaft art association and has been shortlisted in the exhibition design category of the 2023 Dezeen Awards.
      Didier Faustino has designed the scenography for Paula Rego: There and Back AgainDidier Faustino and his practice Mésarchitecture created a series of display walls for the show, providing additional surface area inside the building for displaying Rego’s work while referencing her distorted artistic style.
      “The aim of the scenography is to emphasise the contemporaneity of Paula Rego’s work, as well as to echo the violence of the world she describes,” said Faustino.
      The exhibition is spread over four rooms, each painted in a different colourThe Portuguese-British artist, who died aged 87 in 2022, was known for her stark depictions of injustice – particularly against women – and has been heralded as a feminist icon.

      Unfolding across four rooms over two levels, the exhibit comprised 80 works including paintings, drawings, prints and costume designs.
      The scenography consists of a variety of shrink-wrapped blocksTo display some of the larger or more important paintings, Faustino built a variety of freestanding wooden structures with shapes and protrusions that respond to the architecture of each space, as well as the sizes of the specific frames.
      He then wrapped these structures in white thermo-retractable film and exposed the material to heat so it pulled taught over the formwork.

      Didier Faustino adds “explosive architectural installation” to André Bloc’s 1950s villa

      “Walls to hang her paintings have been designed with protruding parts, giving them a grotesque appearance resembling the grotesque figures of the artist,” Faustino said.
      “Their wrapping with heat-shrink white film, with its stretched and wrinkled parts, gives a sense of both tension and sensuality.”
      Arched clerestory windows are echoed across the tops of the display blocksFaustino also pulled several colours from Rego’s paintings and applied these to the perimeter walls that surround the sculptural displays.
      More artworks and exhibition texts were presented on these brightly-hued surfaces, which contrasted with the stark white plastic. The exhibition was Rego’s first institutional solo show in Germany and ran from 30 October 2022 to 29 January 2023.
      The shrink-wrapping creates wrinkles and protrusionsFaustino’s work spans both art and architecture, ranging from bright spiky doorways and stages added to historic buildings, to a bar interior in Ghent with pink marble walls and olive green furnishings.
      The photography is by David Boureau.
      Paula Rego: There and Back Again took place at the Kestner Gesellschaft from 30 October 2022 to 29 January 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

      Read more: More

    • 113 Shares99 Views

      in Rooms

      Adi Goodrich and Sam Klemick among exhibitors at INTRO/LA

      by

      Curated by design consultancy Small Office, this year’s INTRO/LA features sculptural furniture from local designers such as Adi Goodrich, Sam Klemick and Jialun Xiong.

      The exhibition is being shown in Small Office’s Los Angeles showroom, with pieces displayed among semi-transparent dividers.
      Pieces by Los Angeles designers Adi Goodrich, Sam Klemick, Jialun Xiong and more are on display at INTRO/LAIt showcases both emerging and established Los Angeles designers.
      “The show is to display how diverse the community is, and how everyone’s working in different styles and production methods and materials,” Small Office founder Paul Valentine told Dezeen.
      For the first time, the exhibition is hosted at the showroom at Small Office, which runs the event. On the left is a collection by Estudio Persona and on the right is a collection by Adi Goodrich”[It’s] really to show the expansive of creativity here, rather than zero in on one trend and say, ‘this is what’s happening’.”

      Colourful, geometric pieces from Adi Goodrich’s Sing Thing collection are on display, including multi-tiered lamps, a checkered dining chair and playful, flat-pack side tables.
      Designer Sam Klemick showcased the Sweater Chair, a simple wooden chair draped with a carved-wooden sweaterThe collection is an homage to the silhouettes and character of the French L’Esprit Nouveau movement, as well as Lina, an influential woman in Goodrich’s life who taught her “how to live”.
      Sam Klemick’s Sweater Chair and an accompanying, wiggle-legged stool sit nearby.
      Jialun Xiong’s architectural side table features geometric cut-outsRecently on display as part of 2LG Studio’s You Can Sit With Us exhibition, the Sweater Chair consists of a carved-wood sweater draped over the backrest of a chair of the same material.
      An aluminium side table inspired by “the exterior of a boxy home” by designer Jialun Xiong sits among a chair, bench and stool featuring stainless steel elements and minimalistic lines.
      Caleb Engstrom’s Wet Wool chair is made of wooden and metal pieces draped with resin-soaked woolXiong’s Dwell side table consists of a metallic cube with rectangular and circular slices taken from around its body, “representing different architectural elements to enrich the user’s experience”.
      Caleb Engstrom’s Wet Wool chair is made of resin-drenched wool draped and set to dry over metal and wood pieces, which debuted earlier this year at Los Angeles Design Festival 2023,

      Nine design highlights from Los Angeles Design Festival 2023

      The chair sits next to a stackable side table made of rubber, lacquer and resin table bases used in Engstrom’s other pieces. One such base layer contains “faux” lemons trapped in its transparent form.
      Other work includes rustic wooden stools and lighting by Ravenhill Studio, spikey, wooden chairs and a large mirror by Objects for Objects and scalloped, ceramic planters and side tables from BZIPPY. Also on show was a collection by Leah Ring and Adam de Boer as well as studio Waka Waka, which has a production studio next door.
      The exhibition was curated to highlight the diversity of local work. The collection shown is by Taidhg O’NeillThe INTRO series was started in 2013 as a platform to showcase both emerging and established designers in contrast to the traditional trade show format. Valentine aims to create “one interior feeling” by displaying pieces from various designers in close proximity to one another for a community-oriented exhibition.
      Previous design exhibitions around Los Angeles include Future Perfect’s Dear Future show, which displayed work from Gaetano Pesce and a variety of shows at Los Angeles Design Festival 2023.
      INTRO/LA is on show at Small Office in Los Angeles until 17 November. See Dezeen Events Guide for more architecture and design events around the world.
      The photography is by JJ Geiger.

      Read more: More