The aesthetics of the Shakers – a religious community that came to the United States around 1774, the philosophies of which were centred on principles of simplicity, utility and honesty – are often regarded as establishing the first tenets of American design. With Shaker communities largely self-sufficient, and alive and well right up until the 1950s, their handcrafted furniture and minimalist designs have inspired designers and furniture makers around the world.
This week, a group of young designers will stage a showcase of reinterpreted Shaker designs at Sight Unseen Offsite, a curated platform for exciting and emerging design work, in New York City. The group, comprised of 11 international designers, visited the Hancock Shaker Village in Massachusetts and the Mount Lebanon Shaker Museum in upstate New York for a week-long workshop, handling Shaker artifacts and exploring the community’s philosophies and inner workings to produce a new collection of Shaker-inspired furniture.
Each object in ‘Furnishing Utopia’ highlights the influence of Shaker style on contemporary design. From benches and rocking chairs that riff on traditional Shaker style to bent wood baskets and storage boxes by Studio Gorm, an elegant secretaire by Ladies & Gentlemen Studio and a pair of austere candlesticks by Jonah Takagi, the inspiring collection will shed new light on the enduring appeal of Shaker style. The exhibition will be presented as a series of vignettes that evoke the unadorned simplicity of Shaker community life. A catalogue of the products, photographed by Charlie Schuck at the Hancock Shaker Village, will also be on offer.
Pictured: a collection of bentwood baskets by Studio Gorm
Eleven international designers visited the Hancock Shaker Village in Massachusetts and the Mount Lebanon Shaker Museum in upstate New York for a week-long workshop, handling Shaker artifacts and exploring the community’s philosophies and inner workings.
Pictured left: a woven stool by Ladies & Gentlemen Studio. Right: a colourful set of brushes by Zoe Mowat
Each object in ‘Furnishing Utopia’ highlights the Shaker influence on contemporary design.
Pictured: a bench by Studio Gorm
Centred on the principles of simplicity, utility and honest, the collection will shed new light on the enduring appeal of Shaker style.
Pictured left: a broom by Christopher Specce. Right: a collection of wooden boxes by Jonah Takagi
The exhibition will be installed as a series of vignettes that evoke the unadorned simplicity of Shaker community life.
INFORMATION
‘Furnishing Utopia’ premieres at Sight Unseen Offsite on 13 May and will be on view until 16 May. For more details, visit Sight Unseen Offsite’s website
Photography: Charlie Schuck
ADDRESS
Sight Unseen Offsite
The Grace Building
New York, NY 10110
-
A celestial New York exhibition showcases Roman and Williams’ mastery of lightingLauded design studio Roman and Williams is exhibiting 100 variations of its lighting ‘family tree’ inside a historic Tribeca space
-
‘He immortalised the birth of the supermodel’: inside Dior’s career-spanning retrospective of photographer Peter LindberghOlivier Flaviano, curator and head of Paris’ La Galerie Dior, talks us through a new Peter Lindbergh retrospective, which celebrates the seminal German photographer’s longtime relationship with the French house
-
Take a bite: Laila Gohar and The Luxury Collection’s ‘Cakes & Candles’ are a sweet treat for the sensesLaila Gohar’s six cake-inspired candles draw on The Luxury Collection’s hotels around the world – where guests can enjoy matching edible confections
-
Forged in the California desert, Jonathan Cross’ brutalist ceramic sculptures go on show in NYCJoshua Tree-based artist Jonathan Cross’ sci-fi-influenced works are on view at Elliott Templeton Fine Arts in New York's Chinatown
-
Italian designer Enrico Marone Cinzano fuses natural perfection with industrial imperfectionEnrico Marone Cinzano's first solo show at New York’s Friedman Benda gallery debuts collectible furniture designs that marry organic materials with upcycled industrial components
-
One to Watch: Brooklyn studio Outgoing gives new meaning to the idea of world buildingLife and creative partners Brett Gui Xin and Del Hardin Hoyle from Outgoing blur the lines between craft and concept in experimental designs that have the potential for greater application
-
Discover the alchemy of American artists Philip and Kelvin LaVerneThe work of Philip and Kelvin LaVerne, prized by collectors of 20th-century American art, is the subject of a new book by gallerist Evan Lobel; he tells us more
-
Sarah Solis’ first furniture collection is an homage to art deco‘Is it weird to call furniture sexy?’ Los Angeles-based designer Sarah Solis discusses her debut furniture line and new brand and store, Galerie Solis
-
Three sleek new design showrooms you need to see in Los AngelesThree international design showrooms have started a retail design boom in Los Angeles. Here are the stores to put on your radar
-
One to watch: Casey Zablocki’s Rocky Mountain surroundings feed into his vast sculptural workMontana-based artist Casey Zablocki uses one of America’s largest kilns to create monumental ceramic, functional sculptures
-
This remodelled San Francisco family home by MEMarchitecture and Studio Volpe is a masterpiece of soothing modernityA sensitive and coherent approach by the San Francisco-based architects and designers has resulted in a home of tactile beauty, character and comfort
