Seeing and Knowing New Perspectives in Furniture Exhibition Catalogue
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<strong>See<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Know<strong>in</strong>g</strong>:<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>Perspectives</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Furniture</strong><br />
Bryn Davies | Br<strong>and</strong>on Harrison | Jess<br />
Humpston | Daniel Little | Georgia Szymanski
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Craft + Design Canberra<br />
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Cover Image: Daniel Little | ARBR Chair. 2023 | Photo: Daniel Mulheran
<strong>See<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Know<strong>in</strong>g</strong>:<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>Perspectives</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Furniture</strong><br />
Bryn Davies | Br<strong>and</strong>on Harrison | Jess<br />
Humpston | Daniel Little | Georgia Szymanski<br />
16 February - 16 March 2024<br />
Craft + Design Canberra
Image: Bryn Davies | Solace 1, 2023 | Daniel Mulheran
Image: Jess Humpston | Calefaction, 2023 | Photo: Franky Walker
Image: Br<strong>and</strong>on Harrison | M<strong>in</strong>ilith, 2023 | Photo: Allena Tran
<strong>See<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Know<strong>in</strong>g</strong>:<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>Perspectives</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Furniture</strong><br />
<strong>Exhibition</strong> Statement<br />
<strong>See<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Know<strong>in</strong>g</strong>: <strong>New</strong> <strong>Perspectives</strong> <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>Furniture</strong> is a group exhibition featur<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
work of Bryn Davies, Br<strong>and</strong>on Harrison, Jess<br />
Humpston, Daniel Little <strong>and</strong> Georgia<br />
Szymanski.<br />
<strong>Furniture</strong> holds an <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g dichotomy with<strong>in</strong><br />
our everyday lives: it is a phenomenon that<br />
spans the artistic <strong>and</strong> the functional, from<br />
complex to m<strong>in</strong>imalist. Like all craft it has been<br />
deeply affected by changes <strong>in</strong> culture, trends,<br />
<strong>and</strong> technology.<br />
How we see a piece of furniture is guided by<br />
many preconceptions <strong>and</strong> enculturated<br />
assumptions about where they fit <strong>in</strong> our world.<br />
Mass consumption, ease of production, <strong>and</strong><br />
ubiquity are just some of many modern forces<br />
that change how we live with our objects <strong>and</strong><br />
skew their value. Modern consumerism has<br />
altered our connection to the materials, the<br />
process <strong>and</strong> the <strong>in</strong>spiration beh<strong>in</strong>d much artistry<br />
<strong>and</strong> craft. These forces constitute the ‘know<strong>in</strong>g’<br />
that we br<strong>in</strong>g to our ‘see<strong>in</strong>g’ of objects.<br />
The purpose of this group exhibition is to<br />
encourage the viewer to explore different ways<br />
of see<strong>in</strong>g, to br<strong>in</strong>g curiosity to the mundane <strong>and</strong><br />
to challenge the familiarity, preconceptions <strong>and</strong><br />
‘know<strong>in</strong>g’ that <strong>in</strong>fluence our view of objects, <strong>in</strong><br />
this case furniture. This exhibition hopes to be a<br />
celebration of the human aspect <strong>in</strong> mak<strong>in</strong>g, the<br />
beauty of everyday th<strong>in</strong>gs, to shed light on the<br />
familiar <strong>and</strong> allow the viewer to explore, touch<br />
<strong>and</strong> experience furniture, its material, <strong>and</strong> its<br />
process from a different perspective.
Image: Daniel Little | ARBR Chair, 2023 | Photo: Daniel Mulheran
Image: Bryn Davies | Solace 1, 2023 | Photo: Daniel Mulheran
Bryn Davies<br />
ARTIST STATEMENT<br />
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY<br />
Solace 1 <strong>and</strong> Solace 2 conceptually are two side<br />
tables that can be adapted <strong>in</strong>to any household<br />
room. Both tables are explorations of space <strong>and</strong><br />
light, orig<strong>in</strong>ally <strong>in</strong>spired by Japanese modernist<br />
cab<strong>in</strong>et design <strong>and</strong> architectural forms. The side<br />
tables present simple <strong>and</strong> ref<strong>in</strong>ed spaces formed<br />
through the structural slats of Silver Ash that are<br />
a strong contrast to the darker tones of the<br />
Tasmanian Black Wood <strong>and</strong> Eastern Red Cedar.<br />
The name 'Solace' came from the time spent on<br />
these works throughout the year. The creative<br />
journey that this project took me on allowed me<br />
to f<strong>in</strong>d ‘Solace’ <strong>in</strong> the physical <strong>and</strong> mental<br />
attention to both the design <strong>and</strong> construction of<br />
the pieces.<br />
Orig<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g from Sydney's south coast, Bryn<br />
Davies studied a Bachelor <strong>and</strong> Honors degree at<br />
the ANU School of Art <strong>and</strong> Design <strong>in</strong> screen<br />
pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g. Dur<strong>in</strong>g this time he found a love for<br />
furniture <strong>and</strong> design through the school's design<br />
department <strong>and</strong> various local <strong>in</strong>spirations.<br />
Shortly after graduat<strong>in</strong>g Bryn began work<strong>in</strong>g<br />
with wood, <strong>and</strong> was mentored by master sculptor<br />
<strong>and</strong> designer Tom Mac' Mahan.<br />
Bryn completed a Cert IV <strong>in</strong> F<strong>in</strong>e <strong>Furniture</strong> at<br />
the Sturt School for Wood <strong>in</strong> 2021.<br />
He is now a country based Artist/Designer-<br />
Maker. Bryn's practice predom<strong>in</strong>antly focuses on<br />
modernist styles <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>fluences from Japanese,<br />
cubist <strong>and</strong> rectil<strong>in</strong>ear forms <strong>and</strong> designs.
Image: Bryn Davies | Solace 1, 2023 | Photo: Daniel Mulheran
Image: Bryn Davies | Solace 1, 2023 | Photo: Daniel Mulheran
Image: Br<strong>and</strong>on Harrison | M<strong>in</strong>ilith, 2023 | Photo: Allena Tran
Br<strong>and</strong>on Harrison<br />
ARTIST STATEMENT<br />
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY<br />
How does one <strong>in</strong>teract with their environment?<br />
<strong>Furniture</strong> is comfort<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> familiar. There is<br />
memory there, <strong>and</strong> yet each memory is different.<br />
My <strong>in</strong>terests <strong>in</strong>volve the <strong>in</strong>timate relationship<br />
that humans build with the world around them,<br />
from public space to products. By play<strong>in</strong>g with<br />
this experience through texture, balance,<br />
structure <strong>and</strong> movement, I aim to create<br />
furniture that becomes an <strong>in</strong>timate partner <strong>in</strong><br />
the life of the user.<br />
The forms my work takes are visually<br />
m<strong>in</strong>imalist, however, <strong>in</strong>tricately crafted to focus<br />
purely on the end use <strong>and</strong> the relationship it has<br />
with it’s human counterpart.<br />
<strong>Furniture</strong> for the humans.<br />
Br<strong>and</strong>on Harrison is a furniture designer <strong>and</strong><br />
maker based <strong>in</strong> Naarm/Melbourne.<br />
Interested <strong>in</strong> human-centered design at a macro<br />
level, he worked as a Town Planner before<br />
mov<strong>in</strong>g to a more <strong>in</strong>timate, human scale that<br />
furniture is able to respond to. He studied f<strong>in</strong>e<br />
woodwork <strong>and</strong> furniture design at Sturt Craft<br />
centre <strong>in</strong> the NSW Southern Highl<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong><br />
currently holds a residency at the Victorian<br />
Woodworkers Association.<br />
His practice is focused on structure, movement<br />
<strong>and</strong> the <strong>in</strong>teraction between people <strong>and</strong> their<br />
furniture that works to humanise an often<br />
abstract <strong>and</strong> cerebral design manifesto. With<strong>in</strong> a<br />
framework of timber he is able to tap <strong>in</strong>to the<br />
cultural memory of a familiar natural material.<br />
Br<strong>and</strong>on was the w<strong>in</strong>ner of Wood Review’s 2022<br />
student Maker of the Year, has been <strong>in</strong>cluded as<br />
a f<strong>in</strong>alist <strong>in</strong> the 2023 VIVID design award, the<br />
2023 Carence Prize for furniture design <strong>and</strong> the<br />
2021 Craft + Design Canberra’s Emerg<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Contemporaries exhibition.
Image: Br<strong>and</strong>on Harrison | SLYD, 2023 | Photo: Allena Tran
Image: Br<strong>and</strong>on Harrison | SLYD, 2023 | Photo: Allena Tran
Image: Daniel Little | ARBR Chair, 2023 | Photo: Daniel Mulheran
Daniel Little<br />
ARTIST STATEMENT<br />
In my practice I strive to explore <strong>and</strong> celebrate<br />
the <strong>in</strong>terplay of design, craftsmanship <strong>and</strong><br />
materiality. I endeavor to create pieces that<br />
<strong>in</strong>spire a deeper appreciation of the beauty <strong>in</strong> our<br />
everyday objects. My goal is to create objects that<br />
can be lived with, repaired, <strong>and</strong> discovered anew.<br />
My current body of work explores texture,<br />
lightness, <strong>and</strong> the endless possibilities of<br />
exploration. These Objects are created to st<strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong><br />
opposition to the more ubiquitous products of<br />
mass manufacture. The genesis of my recent<br />
pieces emerged through a process of iterative <strong>and</strong><br />
creative play. Notably, the sculptural essence of<br />
the ARBR chair evolved from the <strong>in</strong>tuitive<br />
carv<strong>in</strong>g of prototypes.<br />
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY<br />
Daniel J Little, a Sydney-based designer maker,<br />
began his journey <strong>in</strong>to furniture <strong>and</strong> ceramic<br />
design at Sturt Mittagong, where he served as a<br />
Studio Assistant at Sturt ceramics department.<br />
He went on to study <strong>Furniture</strong> design at Sturt<br />
School for Wood where he graduated <strong>in</strong> 2021. On<br />
graduation he took up a teach<strong>in</strong>g position at<br />
Heartwood creative <strong>and</strong> is currently a furniture<br />
resident at Sturt Galleries. Daniel has sold works<br />
at galleries <strong>in</strong> multiple states <strong>in</strong> Australia <strong>and</strong><br />
was the category w<strong>in</strong>ner of the Australian Wood<br />
review maker of the year <strong>in</strong> cab<strong>in</strong>ets <strong>in</strong> 2022. His<br />
practice explores the endless potential for new<br />
forms <strong>and</strong> ideas that challenge the ubiquity of<br />
mass manufactured objects.<br />
The ARBR chair is built with local Queensl<strong>and</strong><br />
silver ash, an <strong>in</strong>tentional decision made to<br />
highlight a beautiful <strong>and</strong> underused local<br />
material. The focal po<strong>in</strong>t of <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> the piece<br />
is a po<strong>in</strong>t of space created by the curved <strong>in</strong>terplay<br />
of three molded components. Each of these three<br />
pieces consists of 10 ash strips that were glued <strong>in</strong><br />
purpose built formas to become match<strong>in</strong>g pairs.<br />
They are shaped to appear almost like they are<br />
grow<strong>in</strong>g together, Thus the name ‘ARBR’ a play<br />
on the word ‘Arbor’ a shelter or growth of v<strong>in</strong>es. I<br />
am <strong>in</strong>spired by the <strong>in</strong>terplay of light <strong>and</strong> shadow<br />
<strong>and</strong> endeavor to explore the romance <strong>and</strong><br />
fragility of this <strong>in</strong> my piece. This design was an<br />
experiment to push the material <strong>and</strong> create a<br />
piece that imbued both a sculptural quality but<br />
rema<strong>in</strong>ed warm <strong>and</strong> functional.
Image: Daniel Little | ARBR Chair, 2023 | Photo: Daniel Mulheran
Image: Daniel Little | ARBR Chair, 2023 | Photo: Daniel Mulheran
Image: Jess Humpston | Calefaction, 2023 | Photo: Franky Walker
Jess Humpston<br />
ARTIST STATEMENT<br />
Work<strong>in</strong>g predom<strong>in</strong>antly <strong>in</strong> timber, my work<br />
balances traditional woodwork<strong>in</strong>g with<br />
architectural character, contrast<strong>in</strong>g clean l<strong>in</strong>es<br />
with the tactility of the h<strong>and</strong>-made. A<br />
background <strong>in</strong> both fashion <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>terior design<br />
has helped tune my underst<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>g of the space a<br />
piece of furniture <strong>in</strong>habits <strong>and</strong> the <strong>in</strong>timate<br />
physical <strong>in</strong>teraction between user <strong>and</strong> object. At<br />
both macro <strong>and</strong> micro scale, connection between<br />
user <strong>and</strong> furniture is always considered with the<br />
aim to elevate everyday functional requirements<br />
with an element of the unexpected. My work is<br />
m<strong>in</strong>imal, yet detail focussed <strong>and</strong> my practice is<br />
dedicated to material exploration with<strong>in</strong> highly<br />
rational <strong>and</strong> brief-driven parameters.<br />
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY<br />
AJess Humpston is an emerg<strong>in</strong>g designer-maker<br />
based <strong>in</strong> Naarm/Melbourne work<strong>in</strong>g<br />
predom<strong>in</strong>antly <strong>in</strong> timber. A recent graduate of<br />
the Sturt School for Wood, Jess also holds an<br />
Honours degree <strong>in</strong> Interior Architecture at<br />
Curt<strong>in</strong> University <strong>and</strong> an Advanced Diploma <strong>in</strong><br />
Fashion <strong>and</strong> Textiles from the WA Institute of<br />
Fashion <strong>and</strong> Textiles. Jess is currently an artist <strong>in</strong><br />
residence at the Victorian Woodworkers<br />
Association where she tutors part time whilst<br />
balanc<strong>in</strong>g a career <strong>in</strong> Interior Design. A f<strong>in</strong>alist <strong>in</strong><br />
last year's Clarence Art Prize, Jess has been<br />
<strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> exhibitions <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g Design Fr<strong>in</strong>ge<br />
<strong>and</strong> Craft Victoria where she was a participat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
designer <strong>in</strong> The Chair exhibition. Jess has<br />
contributed to the Australian Wood Review as a<br />
judge <strong>and</strong> writer <strong>in</strong> addition to w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g AWR<br />
Maker of the Year <strong>in</strong> 2022.
Image: Jess Humpston | Marg<strong>in</strong>, 2023 | Photo: Greg Piper
Image: Jess Humpston | Marg<strong>in</strong>, 2023 | Photo: Greg Piper
Image: Claudia Vogel | Adapt A Bench, 2023 | Photo: Lefika Images<br />
Image: Georgia Szymanski | Curved Drawers, 2022 | Photo: Issy Connelley
Georgia Szymanski<br />
ARTIST STATEMENT<br />
I am a multi-discipl<strong>in</strong>ary designer maker based<br />
<strong>in</strong> Naarm (Melbourne). I work primarily with<br />
wood to create functional pieces, blurr<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
l<strong>in</strong>es between furniture, object <strong>and</strong> sculpture.<br />
My practice <strong>in</strong>vestigates <strong>in</strong>timacy with<strong>in</strong><br />
personal <strong>and</strong> collective spaces through a variety<br />
of scale <strong>and</strong> material matter. I am <strong>in</strong>tent on<br />
practic<strong>in</strong>g my craft as a way of re-evaluat<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
beauty of commonplace objects <strong>and</strong> their role <strong>in</strong><br />
our sense of place.<br />
Made to Measure tabletop uses offcuts from a<br />
previous project <strong>and</strong> legs that I developed <strong>and</strong><br />
created at Sturt School for Wood <strong>in</strong> 2022. The<br />
legs are formed us<strong>in</strong>g a slid<strong>in</strong>g partner jig with 12<br />
lam<strong>in</strong>ations steam bent <strong>and</strong> glued <strong>in</strong> the jig. The<br />
steam bent process was my first experience at<br />
bend<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> re-produc<strong>in</strong>g multiples. I worked<br />
with a metal fabricator Old Four Legs to create<br />
the prototype Weight of Some Th<strong>in</strong>g. Work<strong>in</strong>g<br />
with a fabricator on a piece of furniture was<br />
another first experience. The development of my<br />
furniture craft h<strong>in</strong>ges on <strong>in</strong>corporat<strong>in</strong>g new<br />
materials, techniques <strong>and</strong> ways of production.<br />
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY<br />
Georgia completed a Bachelor of Interior Design<br />
(Honours) at RMIT <strong>in</strong> 2018, a Certificate II <strong>in</strong><br />
Cab<strong>in</strong>et <strong>and</strong> <strong>Furniture</strong> Mak<strong>in</strong>g at Box Hill<br />
Institute <strong>in</strong> 2020 <strong>and</strong> graduated from Sturt<br />
School for Wood with a Certificate IV <strong>in</strong> F<strong>in</strong>e<br />
<strong>Furniture</strong> Mak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> 2022. Georgia currently<br />
teaches an open course at the Melbourne Guild<br />
of F<strong>in</strong>e Woodwork<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> facilitates furniture<br />
mak<strong>in</strong>g with people with disabilities at<br />
Connect<strong>in</strong>g to Australia <strong>in</strong> Brunswick,<br />
Melbourne. Georgia is currently curat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong><br />
present<strong>in</strong>g an exhibition with Jess Humpston<br />
for Melbourne Design Week 2024.<br />
Georgia has recently exhibited at the Melbourne<br />
Design Fr<strong>in</strong>ge 2023 Speculation: Eight Billion<br />
Little Utopias. She exhibited as part of the Ceres<br />
Fair Wood exhibition for Melbourne Design<br />
Week 2023 <strong>and</strong> with Vivid Emerg<strong>in</strong>g Designer<br />
Awards. Georgia was jo<strong>in</strong>tly granted the<br />
<strong>Furniture</strong> Design Award <strong>and</strong> Authentic Design<br />
Alliance Award of Merit <strong>in</strong> 2022 by the Latitude<br />
Group Vivid Emerg<strong>in</strong>g Designer Awards.
Image: Georgia Szymanski | Curved Drawers, 2022 | Photo: Issy Connelley
Image: Georgia Szymanski | Weight of Some Th<strong>in</strong>g, 2024 | Photo: Issy Connelley