Rhode Island School of Design to Participate in ICFF + WantedDesign Manhattan During NYCxDESIGN 2024

Furniture Design department to present Material Opulence at WantedDesign Manhattan

PROVIDENCE, RI  – April 26, 2024 – Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) is pleased to participate in the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) + WantedDesign Manhattan at the Jacob K. Javits Center during NYCxDESIGN 2024 from May 19–21 in New York, NY. This year RISD’s Furniture Design department will present Material Opulence at WantedDesign Manhattan (booth W875).

Material Opulence – WantedDesign Manhattan Booth W875 (May 19-21)
Ideals of luxury are geographically, historically and materially specific and inextricably linked to larger social and economic structures. Material Opulence offers a vibrant and inclusive reimagination of grandeur through a collection of functional chairs and domestic objects.
 
Incorporating an expansive range of materials—from aluminum, indigo and OSB (Oriented Strand Board) to paper and ceramics—the work in this collection rethinks hierarchical material associations and creates space for a broad understanding of value. In their ability to acknowledge and engage critically with existing histories, the designers whose work is included in this collection envision a present and a future that prioritize generativity, equity and sustainability over extraction, suppression and competition.

Employing craft as an act of generosity rather than a labor commodity, understanding materiality as a means of synergizing with our earthly habitat and embracing utility as a layered invitation to engage critically with our surroundings and collective context, Material Opulence is unapologetic in its proposal for new ways of seeing, making and living.

The work includes Pulp Table Lamp by Samuel Aguirre MFA 24 FD, I Thought You Would Like It by Jonathan Dinetz 24 FD, Step-Stool XL by Yining Ge 24 FD, Lounge Chair by Cooper Goldman MFA 24 FD, Taxidermy Tree by Cameron Lasson 24 FD, 60 E Transit by Anuj Malla MFA 24 FD, Baked Stool by Jumana Motiwala MFA 25 FD, Plastic Chair by August Ostrow 25 FD, A Hint of Cherry by Palm Paramee Panchaphalasom 25 FD, Crumple Chair by Oscar Walsh 25 FD, Indigo as Language - Bench by Ziyan Wang 24 FD and Stick Stool 60 by Kira Wilson 24 FD.

A selection of images from Material Opulence by photographer Erik Gould can be found here.

Other RISD Participation at ICFF + WantedDesign Manhattan 2024
RISD President Crystal Williams will also take part in Perspectives and Principles: A Liberative Mindset in Design on May 19 at 1:30 pm at The Oasis. Her conversation with Kamille Glenn (founder of dsgnrswrkshp) and Jean-Marc Bullet (industrial designer and founder of Bullet & Associés) will explore paths for greater inclusion and representation in design, including how to forage community, get involved in activism and create a truly sustainable design practice. Register here to attend. All talks are open to ICFF + WantedDesign Manhattan event registrants.

In addition, RISD Furniture Design faculty member Amy Devers MFA 01 FD, executive producer and host of Clever Podcast, will lead the jury for Launch Pad at WantedDesign and present the Emerging Designers Showcase on the ICFF Talks Stage on May 19 at 4 pm.

RISD students Sam Aguirre MFA 24 FD (Samindaman), Pablo Ejarque-González MFA 24 FD, Yining Ge 24 CR/FD, Yuxuan Huang MFA 24 FD (Yuxuan Huang Studio), Yichu Wang 23 ID/MFA 25 FD, Kewei Zhao MFA 24 FD (ZKW Studio) will also be showing work at WantedDesign Manhattan’s Launch Pad, a platform for emerging designers.

For a directory of all known RISD community participants at NYCxDESIGN, visit alumni.risd.edu.

About Furniture Design at RISD
Students in RISD’s Furniture Design department embark on a course of study encompassing theory, skills, context, research and professional practices. Drawing from a rich tradition, they are encouraged to experiment and work with a wide range of emerging materials and technologies, developing individual voices through the process of making. The program emphasizes the principles and practice of furniture design as well as the social value of art, design and responsible citizenship. Learn more at risd.edu/academics/furniture-design.

About Rhode Island School of Design
RISD (pronounced “RIZ-dee”) is a creative community founded in 1877 in Providence, Rhode Island. Today, we enroll 2,538 students hailing from 60 countries. Led by a committed faculty, they are engaged in 44 full-time bachelor’s and master’s degree programs and supported by a worldwide network of over 31,000 alumni who demonstrate the vital role artists and designers play in today’s society.

Beyond facts and figures, what is the spirit of this community? Through a cross-disciplinary curriculum of studio-based learning and rigorous study in the liberal arts, RISD students are encouraged to develop their own personal creative processes, but they are united by one guiding principle: in order to create, one must question. In cultivating expansive and elastic thinking, RISD seeks to activate a critical exchange that empowers artists, designers and scholars to generate and challenge the ideas that shape our world. RISD’s mission, at both the college and museum, is not only to educate students and the public in the creation and appreciation of works of art and design, but to transmit that knowledge and make global contributions. Learn more at risd.edu.

RISD contact:
Jaime Marland
Senior Director, Public Relations / RISD
jmarland@risd.edu
401 427-6954