Grant Wilkinson and Teresa Rivera are the duo behind furniture studio Wilkinson & Rivera. Both attracted to woodworking, Rivera learned by assisting a Brooklyn cabinetmaker and Wilkinson approached the craft at Bellerby & Co. Globemakers in London (‘mostly because I knew [wood] was Teresa’s thing and I was trying to impress her’, he explains).
Having studied at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia and London’s Camberwell College of Arts respectively, they opened their workshop and collaborative practice in 2020 after further experiences in set design and furniture sourcing, and developed a unique style informed by classic furniture with a twist.
‘Windsor’ chair and ‘Child's Windsor’
Wilkinson & Rivera's furniture pieces offer a contemporary, slightly surrealist twist on furniture classics: take the 'Windsor', a piece that faithfully reproduces the forms of the 16th-century chair with the addition of a serpentine silhouette. Similarly, 'La Silla' is inspired by the classic Queen Anne chair, with the same wiggly motif, and this approach is taken to the highest level with the ‘Welsh Stick Chairs’; featuring hand-carved twists and a natural black finish achieved through scorching the wood.
Most recently, the duo started a collaboration with London furniture emporium SCP, creating the 'Of Nature' collection (unveiled at London Design Festival 2022).Inspired by Verb List, an artwork from 1967 by the radical American sculptor Richard Serra, the collection features four chair designs, nodding to Serra’s handwritten compendium of what he called 'actions to relate to oneself, material, place, and process'). The four designs (each connecting the form to an action and thus called 'Puffed', 'Wilted', 'Whipped', and 'Rippled') are characterised by the studio's original take on classic forms, resulting in a mix of nostalgia, technical experimentation and organic forms.
The Welsh Stick Chair
‘We like the sense of illusion our work brings – our response to classical hardwood furniture has a tendency towards the surreal,’ says Wilkinson. To create their pieces, they use a mix of steam-bending, carving and weaving. ‘We look at the process and how it evokes action,’ continues Rivera. ‘By starting with movement or action, we uncover interesting forms to investigate. We keep distorting them until we find something suitably weird and pleasing.’
Although the pair now hope to branch out into new materials (such as stone and metal, overlapped with woodworking), wood maintains a special place for the studio: ‘You could dedicate your entire life to understanding wood and only skim the surface,’ explains Wilkinson. ‘The timber we work with has come from trees much older than us – there’s a significance to using it that keeps you honest.’
-
Audi launches AUDI, a China-only sub-brand, with a handsome new EV conceptThe AUDI E previews a new range of China-specific electric vehicles from the German carmaker’s new local sub-brand
-
Inside Izza Marrakech: A new riad where art and bohemian luxury meetHonouring the late Bill Willis’ hedonistic style, Izza Marrakech fuses traditional Moroccan craftsmanship with the best of contemporary art
-
Clocking on: the bedside analogue timepieces that won’t alarm your aestheticWe track down the only tick-tocks that matter, nine traditional alarm clocks that tell the time with minimum fuss and maximum visual impact
-
Josh Egesi on his designs and evolving culture: 'Design is a form of cultural documentation'Nigerian designer Josh Egesi tells Wallpaper* about the creativity behind his studio, design approach, his country's cultural revolution, and venturing into surfboard design
-
Panorammma's design work is a combination of fictional worldsWallpaper* Future Icons: Mexico City-based design studio Panorammma is the practice of 29-year old Maika Palazuelos
-
Olivia Bossy's sculptural furniture is inspired by everyday momentsWallpaper* Future Icons: based in Sydney Olivia Bossy turns visuals and ideas into sculptural furniture
-
Rio Kobayashi turns traditional furniture making on its headWallpaper* Future Icons: how Austrian-Japanese designer Rio Kobayashi reinvents traditional furniture through diverse influences and collaborations
-
Rino Claessens’ modular furniture experiments with ceramic designWallpaper* Future Icons: Rino Claessens turns his love for ceramics into experimental large-scale modules and compositions
-
Inside Seongil Choi's experiments with materials and formWallpaper* Future Icons: Seoul-based Seongil Choi works across a variety of materials, with experimental approaches at the heart of his work
-
Parti Studio swing between architecture and design through research and experimentationWallpaper* Future Icons: London-based architecture practice Parti made its lighting design debut this year
-
Giles Nartey translates African rituals into bold design objectsFuture Icons: Giles Nartey's boundary-pushing work combines teaching, research and design
