Photograph by Andrew Bradley
Feature: Nation Building
May 1, 2006
Also intricate in construction, Maurício Azeredo’s
furniture is puzzlelike. He might use 30 different types of wood cut at various
angles—some sinuous, others angular—in the construction of a single table.
Azeredo bases his collections on the variety and color of the various woods, and
many, such as the Rayô Series, comprise signed and dated pieces. Most of these
are clean-lined, geometric shapes (squares and rectangles particularly), ideal
planes for the rich play of wood and pattern. Azeredo, a former film student and
trained architect born in Rio, makes his furniture using construction and
joinery methods—dovetails, a three-dimensional joint—that, following the
Arts and Crafts tradition, are visible components of the overall design.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Photograph courtesy Espasso. (Click image to enlarge)
Etel Interiores, +55.11.3064.1266, www.etelinteriores.com.br
Moura
Starr, 310.854.9100, www.mourastarr.com
Maurício Azeredo, www.mauricioazeredo.com.br
IRELAND
Ireland’s metamorphosis into an economic juggernaut is having a
corresponding effect in the world of Irish design. Dublin-based Heneghan Peng Architects’ plan for a $335 million museum at the base of the Great Pyramids
in Egypt triumphed over more than 1,500 other submissions in one of the largest
architectural competitions to date. The National College of Art and Design in
Dublin is expanding its postgraduate program from 16 to 50 students to meet
demand. However, with an absence of a 20th-century design legacy, largely due to
political upheaval and uncertainty as well as economic depression, contemporary
Irish designers choose to focus less on a search for Irishness and more on
exploring an aesthetic style described by the New York Times’ Virginia Gardiner
as “Irish-inflected European.”
That term’s definition is exemplified in the
made-to-order furniture of Joseph Walsh, who learned traditional furniture
making and has a special appreciation for traditional Irish farmhouse furniture
design: “its purity of form, exposed joinery and use of solid materials.” Walsh
augmented his education with travels throughout the United Kingdom and
Scandinavia, where he found inspiration in Scandinavian boatbuilding techniques
as well as in museums. Working predominantly with native Irish hardwoods such as
olive ash, elm, walnut and sycamore, which he sometimes adorns with Connemara
marble and precious metals, he creates vibrant, sculptural pieces that combine
elements of Art Nouveau, a sophisticated theatricality, and pure, almost
Zen-like forms emphasizing the intrinsic qualities of the woods and other
materials.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Designs from Thomas Kay, who often
carves his furnishings from a single tree trunk. Photograph by Roland Paschhoff. (Click image to enlarge)
Another artist integral to the new wave in Irish design is Thomas
Kay. Born and raised in Switzerland, the sculptor, painter and furniture maker
lived in West Africa before settling in Ireland in 1989. His work reflects his
exposure to diverse cultures as well as his professional training in
architecture and stained glass manufacturing. The pieces sometimes reference
postmodern Memphis furniture in scale, use of primary color and whimsy, but they
most often evoke an elemental fluidity in line and shape. The elegance is
surprising, in light of the fact that Kay often carves his furnishings in one
piece from one tree trunk, using a chain saw, hammer and chisel. He does not
necessarily sand his work either, preferring the chain saw’s irregular marks to
lend a texture that contrasts with the sleekness of line (and also defies the
more commonplace look of smooth finishes in bespoke woodwork). Kay’s work ranges
from collections of assembled branches to sculptures carved from single trunks
to an installation that complemented his series of paintings based on megalithic
art found in Ireland.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
A whimsical
chair by Joseph Walsh references Art
Nouveau. Photograph by Andrew Bradley. (Click image to enlarge)
Stephen O’Briain is interested in simplicity of line
and form. But the craftsmanship required to achieve that goal is anything but
simple. Focusing on meticulously detailed joints and hand-planed curves,
O’Briain often leaves swaths of wood unadorned, letting the beauty of the
material speak for itself, and in doing so, leaving no room for error in
craftsmanship or blemishes of any kind. Such artistry comes from O’Briain’s
training as a painter, as well as his genes: a tradition of woodworking in his
family stretches back three generations.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Photograph by Roland Paschhoff. (Click image to enlarge)
Joseph Walsh, +353.21.477.1759, www.josephwalshfurniture.com
Thomas
Kay, +353.27.61048, www.kayartdesign.com
Stephen
O’Briain,
+353.599.77.1820, www.obriainfurniture.com
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