Beautility
Lumio Light designed by Max Gunawan (San Francisco, CA)
Eyeglasses designed by Herrlicht (Erfurt, Germany)
Brooms designed by BrenWood Forge and Broom (Hillsboro, WV)
Erban Commuter designed by Erbacycles (Boston, MA)
Hex Hive designed by Thank Nature (Santa Rosa, CA)
Baylun Rolling Pin designed by Tahir Mahmood Design (Toronto, Canada)
Waka Fish Surfboard designed by Grain Surfboards (York, ME)
Kina Light designed by David Trubridge (Aotearoa, New Zealand)
Maple Set Knives designed by Federal DesignHouse (Ottawa, Canada)
SHOWCASE – January 2015
A preview of the exhibition Beautility at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship’s Messler Gallery
On January 23, the exhibition Beautility opens at the Messler Gallery at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport. Highlighting exceptional, functional products made with wood, the exhibition celebrates otherwise ordinary objects—buckets, bicycles, boats, and brooms, to name a few—that marry beauty and utility. Some, such as the hand-tied brooms of Appalachian artist Brenda Harman, are pleasing in their authenticity and aesthetic simplicity. Others, such as Max Gunawan’s Lumio multifunctional LED lamp, employ the latest technologies to push the boundaries of innovation and design. Guest curator Judy Bonzi says, “In researching the show I was excited to discover a natural juxtaposition between gorgeous traditional objects that arrived at their design essence through centuries of anonymous refinement, and contemporary products that have been brilliantly conceived and executed for purposes that were previously unknown.” Beautility runs until April 1. MH+D shares a preview of the work on these pages.