Grandmateria
by Bonnie Alter, London on 09.24.07
This is the opening show of Gallery Libby Sellers and it is one to watch because Sellers used to be the curator at the Design Museum, so she knows her stuff. The exhibition featured some names which are familiar to treehugger readers; looks like we have the inside line on design too! There was a new piece of work by the ubiquitous Stuart Haygarth. He uses everyday objects in his work and forces us to look at them in new ways. This time he has made a geometrical looking chandelier consisting of hundreds of red and orange plastic truck tail lights. He used truck lights because car lights are rounded and he wanted rectangular shapes.
Peter Marigold had shelving units made from tree branches and components from stringed instruments. The uprights were irregularly shaped branches and the shelf part was made from the wood in cellos and guitars, including the marquetry around the sound box (hole). Chairs by Moritz Waldemeyer shed a different light on seating--a series of Macintosh-like chairs which respond to the colour of the sitter's clothing, and project it on the wall behind, using LED lighting. It's not often that one can sit in their own halo.
But the real showstopper was the bench by Julia Lohmann and Gero Grundmann. It is made from industrial soap and cast into a bench form with a wooden slab on top. Since it is compacted it will last for a long time and if it is dirty, you can just wash it off. There is no attempt to hide the imperfections in the soap, they are part of the design, as is the the idea of the transience of man-made structures. Her other works include lamps made from preserved sheeps' stomachs and a cow bench made of leather. :: Gallery Libby Sellers Via :: London Design Festival
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