If God is in the details – as the famous German idiom truly goes – then finding introspection through emotive objects is akin to prayer. Facilitating this material communion is New York- and San Francisco-based interdisciplinary design studio Office of Tangible Space (OTS) whose first solo show, No Discipline, is proudly presented by the TriBeCa-headquartered gallery VERSO. This exercise marries the maker’s line of inquiry regarding human connection to physical space with the gallery’s affinity for allegorical design works. A congregation of home furnishings comprising creative collaborations between OTS and Made By Choice, Poppy Prints, Thirdkind, Rosie Li, Mondays, Ruxandra Duru, and Aelfie, alongside a debut of their new in-house furniture collection, all serve to answer one question: how might we forge connections between person and product to enhance the experience of place?
Area rug from the Niwa Collection designed by Office of Tangible Space for Aelfie
Area rug from the Niwa Collection designed by Office of Tangible Space for Aelfie
Pebble Table Lamp by Rosie Li Studio with Office of Tangible Space
Reversible Lounge Chair by Office of Tangible Space
Aptly named, the curation explores stimulus-response resulting from a variety of design methods unencumbered by a strict definition of technical discipline. It’s almost as if natural mapping principles were applied in order to speak an intuitive, primordial visual and physical language. Themes including functionality, approachability, and playfulness, are prevalent through pieces whose execution varies end-use, material, color, joinery, and form. “The tendrils of connection form in the minds of the viewer and the questions we were asking all along start to have answers,” say Michael Yarinsky and Kelley Perumbeti who helm OTS.
Rolling Woods Wall Shelf by Office of Tangible Space
Node Dining Table by Office of Tangible Space; Scene Chair by Made by Choice with Office of Tangible Space
Resting Vase by Office of Tangible Space
Clockwise Assembly 1, 2, and 3, by Office of Tangible Space
Objects like their very own reversible lounge chair demonstrate a balance between play and pragmatism. Fashioned from oak, india-dyed oak, and upholstery, the delightfully subversive lounger rests on a fulcrum-like base, which becomes a point from where it may be flipped, rather than rocked, across the horizontal axis delineated in the seat pad. Extruded anodized aluminum also finds new meaning as both room dividers vary in height, as well as partial pedestals for a series of coffee tables. In any case, each elicits curiosity for what may lie beyond, below, behind, or around the corrugated structure’s corner.
Rolling Woods Low Shelf by Office of Tangible Space
Extruded Screen Low by Office of Tangible Space; Maamuna Lounge Chair by Made by Choice with Office of Tangible Space; Sieni Side Table by Made by Choice with Office of Tangible Space
Opportunities to interact abound through other vignettes are encouraged by eclectic upholstery from Weft, wriggly forms from Made by Choice, contrasting colors from Thirdkind, and a diverse palette of finishes all coordinated at the hand of OTS. A particular tease to audiences is their assembly 1, 2, and 3. In this series, several textural black yakisugi cedar planes are oriented, mounted, and then accented by a singular sculptural clear-coated cedar element that appears to traverse each surface by sticking to, slithering across, or slouching on it. The resulting dichotomy is indicative of an approach that blurs the line between digital manufacturing and hand craft.
The Grid Collection backdrops by Poppy
Extruded Coffee Tables Large and Small by Office of Tangible Space; Pebble Floor Lamp by Rosie Li Studio with Office of Tangible Space
As evidenced by the robust exhibition, designs indistinguishable from intention imbue the inanimate with a capacity to connect, all the while elevating the everyday and accessible home furnishing to an objet d’art – without losing its humility. “For me, this type of design is exceedingly rare in a current climate of attention-begging objects that depend on impressive or exotic materials,” says Kate Greenberg, a fellow furniture designer-maker whose work shares a similar integrity. “It takes a lot of thought and understanding of your own values to achieve an OTS attitude about design.”
Extruded Screen High by Office of Tangible Space
Modular Candle Holder by Office of Tangible Space
As the show comes to a close, some of the exhibition pieces will remain on view at VERSO’s TriBeCa location while others will be on view at The Crossroads within ICFF. To explore the space visit verso-works.com and to see OTS’s portfolio visit tangible.space.
Photography by Jonathan Hokklo.
