Signals & Stats

Domestic Appeal by Matylda Krzykowski for Chamber, New York. Photography by Fran Parente

The consumer collection

By Rhiannon McGregor 13 : 03 : 2017 Domestic Appeal : Chamber NYC : Home-tail

New York – The Domestic Appeal design exhibition examines humanity’s relationship with household items.

While domestic design objects have not changed much over the past 60 years, humanity’s relationship with furniture has evolved
A collage of the works on display is inspired by artist Richard Hamilton

Inspired by artist Richard Hamilton’s seminal collage Just What is it that Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing?, the exhibition features newly commissioned pieces that envisage the next iteration of consumerism and how it will shape humanity’s relationship with domestic furniture.

The objects on display are playful interpretations of familiar forms that distort subvert viewers’ expectations in regards to scale, texture and surface pattern.

A set of vibrant foam dining room chairs and table designed by Brooklyn studio Andy and Dave mimic forms in a modern cityscape, while Ferréol Babin’s multicoloured lamp-cum-tables are designed to be either ‘attractive or repulsive’, according to the designer.

‘Looking at Hamilton’s artwork and comparing it with today, the objects are not very different,’ curator Matylda Krzykowski explained to Wallpaper. ‘But 60 years later there has been a huge shift in the way we want to possess furniture.’

The Big Picture

In line with the The E-motional Economy, humanity has moved on from its obsession with consumerism, and is increasingly embracing a mindset that values the emotional rather than material worth of objects. This emotional approach to furniture was a key topic of discussion at Stockholm Furniture Fair 2017.