TC+OUO3 (AKA, Tables, Chairs and Other Related Objects), an annual exhibition that won two Toronto Design Offsite People’s Choice Awards last year (Favourite Exhibition and Favourite New Work), is back at the Student Gallery for Toronto’s Design Week. The exhibition, which runs until January 26, was curated this year by Matthew Cherkas (Industrial Design, 2013) and Sean Collins (fourth-year Industrial Design student).
TC+OUO3 looks at the role of furniture as a medium for personal expression. In Collins and Cherkas’s words, the focus is on “original designs that consider the voice of furniture.”
“Our goal in curating this show was to present stimulating conversations around human behaviour, and narratives within social/cultural norms,” Collins and Cherkas said. The two curators chose only works created within the design department to provide students with the important opportunity to show their work in public. They found the selection process very satisfying: “Our furniture program had a strong group of students who all offered compelling narratives within their pieces. The participating designers have been so enthusiastic and dedicated to pulling the show together.”
Walk into the gallery and you’ll see Alexandra Louise Beriault’s “Table,” a wooden dining table designed with cutouts in the base so the structural legs are formed by the legs of the people sitting at it. Luca DiGregorio’s oversized wooden bowl features a bright yellow interior. Ryan Pollard’s “Woven Table” is made of a series of precisely arranged strands of grey wool. And Kinga Field’s “Rocking Table” is a seesaw-like structure. The show also features works by Will Anderson, Patrick Dougherty, Andrew Gooding, Matthew Kennedy, Anne Kwon, Charlotte Rauchberger and Dean Zhu.
This is OCAD U’s third annual furniture showcase for the Toronto Design Offsite Festival, an indie celebration of innovative art and design which showcases the best in Canadian design at exhibitions and events across the city.
The Toronto Design Offsite Festival takes place during Toronto’s Design Week, which happens every year while the Interior Design Show is on at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The Interior Design Show brings together exhibits, new works and speakers from across Canada and around the world.
Learn more:
Attend the TC+OUO3 dance party/reception
Student Gallery
Toronto Design Offsite Festival
Interior Design Show
Dr. Sara Diamond talks about getting inspired at the Toronto Design Offsite Festival: