VISIT | EXHIBITION

Design By Time

Exhibition NOTES

Design By Time

Design by Time is the first exhibition to identify and bring together works from known and emerging designers, in the U.S. and abroad, whose interest is in expressing the notion of the dynamic passage of time and how it can be expressed by a variety of design objects including textiles, carpets, ceramics, lighting fixtures, vessels, clocks, and furniture.

Twenty-two studios and designers whose work is presented in this exhibition partner with natural markers of time’s passage such as seasons and growth cycles. Chemistry and physical forces, such as magnetism, crystallization, tides, and the orbiting sun also provide evidence of passing time. With Time Writers, for instance, the artist group Edhv affixes pencils to a thin slice of ancient wood excavated in nearby forests. As the wood reacts to the ambient temperature and humidity, so different from its former underground resting place, it moves, nudging the pencils to draw. More sculpture than tool for drawing, these creature-like constructions are animated by passing time and altered conditions.  Mark Struckenboom immerses a found chandelier in a fluid laced with minerals that cause the growth of crystals, creating an encrusted relic-like object that seems to have survived from some other time.  Nadia-Anne Ricketts, innovator behind BeatWoven, uses specially developed audio technologies to translate the sounds and rhythms of music into pixels; music becomes pattern that is then woven into fabric. The two panels included in the exhibition represent two very different types of music, providing a visual contrast that correlates to the audio sources: one, David Bowie, the other, classical.  Sebastian Brajkovic’s startling furniture/sculpture appears to have been stretched across time instead of excavated, pulled from Louis XV’s France into the present day. Its swooping curved extended back and seat visualize the dynamism of time.  Taking it one step further, the intricate silk-embroidered upholstery transforms from a staid floral to a contemporary barcode-like pattern to indicate the literal stretching of time.

Where the shape and form of most designed objects is intended to communicate their physical presence, the creation of objects that express the dynamic passage of time offers a counterpoint, a visual expression of life itself.

Design by Time is organized by the Department of Exhibitions, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, and is curated by Ginger Gregg Duggan and Judith Hoos Fox of c2 curatorsquared.

Sponsored By:

Also Sponsored By:

Ann & Steve Bailey, Annie & David Colquitt, Crissy & Bill Haslam, June & Rob Heller