The USA at it's best
It’s fair to say that overall, the USA hasn’t received much positive press over the last couple of years. Whilst stories unfold daily about political in-fighting, disappointing environmental policies, mass shootings and civil unrest; not least via the President’s personal Twitter account, it’s easy to miss some of the many positives coming out of one of the world’s super-powers.
Back in September, Paris based interior and homeware trade show Maison Objet chose to shift the focus and celebrate some of America’s finest young designers; key figures in a blooming and significant design scene occurring across the pond, in spite of a back drop of uncertainty, anger and inequality. Each year the show chooses a country for which they feel is deserving of the Rising Talent Award, gathering a team of industry professionals to select the very best young designers to highlight the merits of the country in question. Having previously focused on areas of Europe, the Middle East and Asia, this time around organisers recognised that the sheer size and cultural diversity of the United States has created a melting pot in which creativity is fostered and developed, with no one clear style or design character but instead a rich mix of exciting approaches and outcomes.
Rising Talent Stand. Image courtesy of AETHION
Yet, even with such an immense and diverse array of cultural strands at play across the country, the judges picked upon an interesting recurring topic as Odile Hainaut of Wanted Design explains:
“The young generation of American designers we meet are generally interested in the handmade. They are entrepreneurs turning out their own small series rather than designers working behind their computers and sending their drawings to manufacturers to be developed and produced. Their work is tactile; it’s about material.”
Green River Project. Image courtesy of AETHION
Perhaps the most obvious example of this approach was the work of design duo Green River Project who create rudimentary furniture with an almost naïve quality. Having set up an ad hoc gallery 5 years ago near the Green River in upstate New York (hence the name) they now make 4 new collections of furniture every year, all with a distinct and raw approach to materials and processes. They choose materials with careful consideration, selecting African Mahogany because it bares the resemblance of raw tobacco or aluminium having been inspired by the Chrysler building. Part of the latest 2019 collection includes coffee-stained Douglas fir stools, which are upholstered in fabric created by another US designer, Emily Bode.
Green River Project. Image courtesy of AETHION
LA based Alex Brokamp elevates banal objects to designer pieces as is evident with his With Care table, which celebrates the ordinary shipping crate. Much of his work re-examines functional objects such as speed bumps, clothes on a laundry line and food delivery graphics, recreating them with new functionality and a subtle charm. As president and creative director of Bernhardt Design and judge Jerry Helling explains, Brokamp’s practice is an upbeat mix of converging approaches:
“ He is a very positive example of young American designers who bridge technical knowledge with simple forms and a sense of lightheartedness in their work. He could almost be the love child of Jaime Hayon and Jasper Morrison.”
Alex Brokamp
Bailey Fontaine is a designer with an acute awareness of the well-trodden path from which he found his inspiration, “I’m probably the one hundred thousandth designer to say I’m inspire by natural formations.” And whilst his sculptural furniture, which includes tables and lamps that have build-ups of material and cut-outs, is clearly inspired by such elements like rocks and erosion his work is also heavily influenced by the brutalism of the modern built up city. This comes through in the materiality of his work, with experimentation in concrete, rusted steel and paper clay all present in his portfolio.
Bailey Fontaine
Lighting designer Rosie Li’s interest in art led her into the world of design and helped her make her first product, the Stella lamp. Inspired by the work of famous American artist Frank Stella, Li found that showing her initial design for the piece led to not only the production line but also a job with prestigious lighting designer Jason Miller. She now works independently, creating a variety of lighting products including the Inez range, which bares the resemblance of palm leaves and other fauna as well as the new eye-catching Bubbly range, which is playfully made up of stacked spherical forms.
Rosie Li
The breadth of design that is coming out of what is one of the world’s most prolific countries is something to behold. And let’s face it; it’s a darn sight more appealing than the predominant American output that we find ourselves faced with here in the UK.
This article was originally published by Design Insider Live.