American Design Club Presents: Raw + Unfiltered

Raw + Unfiltered / Chris Schanck: Reasonable Mirror – photography (right) Kendall Mills

The American Design Club‘s eighth curated, themed design exhibit once again showcases some of today’s most innovative talents with their latest “Raw + Unfiltered” show at Heller Gallery in New York. Kiel Mead, one of the co-founders of the club explains the thought behind the show’s theme: “The AmDC believes in an unfiltered and open process to everything we do. An unfiltered process, in our eyes, is one that leaves nothing hidden and nothing unexplored”. As the city celebrates design this week at ICFF and many satellite shows, “Raw + Unfiltered” fuses the artist’s approach with the designer’s sensibility where this question is posed: “If your process became Raw + Unfiltered, what kind of object would that yield?” Chris Schanck’s Reasonable Mirror, above, answers that question with a sensuous solution.

Raw + Unfiltered / Brittany Pool: Objects For Eating – photography Kendall Mills

Brittany Pool’s organically shaped tableware exaggerates the handmade quality of its construction. Emphasizing surface allure and imperfection of form, the Objects For Eating collection seduces the senses with voluptuous shapes, lush finishes and a richly natural color scheme.

Raw + Unfiltered / Jack Craig: PVC Series – photography Kendall Mills

Jack Craig’s re-purposed PVC Series piping is heated, bent and otherwise manipulated, leaving its industrial associations behind for a more approachable, humanized one. The resulting form, enhanced by soft rippling detailing, affords a more emotional connection to what is ordinarily perceived as a utilitarian, man-made material.

Raw + Unfiltered / Asher Israelow: Terra Chair – photography Kendall Mills

In a more literal sense of the theme, Asher Israelow’s Terra Chair shows off its natural, raw beauty through its unique patterning and untamed edges. The designer balances the organic material with linear, polished shapes that subtly carve out indications for seating.

Raw + Unfiltered / Fort Standard: Sprue Candelabra – photography Kendall Mills

The Sprue Candelabra’s unpolished, roughly finished forms aptly fit into the Raw + Unfiltered theme. Their cast figures transparently reveal any and all scars and coloration associated with their construction process.

Raw + Unfiltered / Mark Dineen: Fur Series Lamp – photography Kendall Mills

Pairing together two unexpected objects, Mark Dineen’s Fur Series Lamp mixes hints of refined, mid-century modern design elements with fur’s untamed beauty. The result aims for luxury found through both controlled and raw materials.

Raw + Unfiltered / Taylor McKenzie Veal: Bent Reed – photography Kendall Mills

Raw + Unfiltered / Taylor McKenzie Veal: Bent Reed detail – photography Kendall Mills

As many of the pieces in “Raw + Unfiltered” celebrate material exploration, Taylor McKenzie Veal meticulously constructs a structural base by means of bending and binding. The end result is surprisingly stable and sturdy, enough so to withstand the weight of its solid glass tabletop.

Raw + Unfiltered / Grain: Molten – photography Kendall Mills

Raw + Unfiltered / Grain: Molten detail – photography Kendall Mills

Molten from Grain lets material tendency reign under controlled design efforts. As molten silver puddles and conjoins, evidence of its fluid past is frozen in time letting the mystery of the material show.

Raw + Unfiltered / Object Trust: Raw Leather Table – photography Kendall Mills

Raw + Unfiltered / Object Trust: Raw Leather Table – photography Kendall Mills

Taking a DIY approach to the theme, The Raw Leather Table from Object Trust uses few and simple elements to create a modern design. Fussy it is not; bungee cord and bluntly cut leather hug the perfectly grooved table.

Raw + Unfiltered / Chris Schanck: Wrapped Armchair – photography Kendall Mills

Chris Schanck’s Wrapped Armchair reveals both its inner and outer design with a stark metal frame and what presents itself as tautly draped “upholstery”. What may appear as malleable is in fact a solid construction, which contradicts the expected association.

Raw + Unfiltered / Bec Brittain: SHY Beams Dark – photography Kendall Mills

And “Raw + Unfiltered” is not always a material interpretation. These javelin-like light beams abandon conventional standards of lighting orientation.  The SHY Beams can be arranged as desired: grouped in numbers or left to stand alone.

Raw + Unfiltered / Aria Mcmanus: Bodega Bag – photography Kendall Mills

Raw + Unfiltered / Aria Mcmanus: Bodega Bag – photography Kendall Mills

And perhaps with a bit of irony, Aria Mcmanus adds a fashionable and utilitarian element to the common plastic bag.

“Raw + Unfiltered” showcases these and 32 additional designs. It is on display now through Friday, May 25th at Heller Gallery located at 420 West 14th Street in New York. Don’t miss the chance to see some of today’s most innovative work from established designers and newcomers alike.

Kendall Mills Photography – website