For Third Year in a Row, Pratt is Strong Presence at Premiere Design Show
Left: Lead faculty advisor Mark Goetz (B.I.D. ’86) explaining the students’ “Perpetual Motion” designs to Giulio Cappellini, owner of Italian design firm Cappellini; Right: George Nakashima Woodworker, S.A. booth at ICFF, designed by exhibition design students under the direction of Interior Design Professor Jon Otis. 
Clockwise from Left: Chair with Belly Button by Wang I Chao (M.I.D.’12), DMC-12 by Edward Hale (M.I.D. '12), Timbre Chairs by Jesse Trentadue (M.I.D. ’12), Bundle Stool by Elizabeth Joy Wong (B.I.D. ’11), REFLEXION Chair by Arnold Chu (M.I.D. ’12), HK-STOOL by Chun Chun (M.I.D. ’12), The Modularity by Kyung ho Chang (B.I.D. ’11), Folded Felt Table by Li-Rong Liao (M.I.D. ’11), and Chipboard Stools by Dana Oxiles (M.I.D. ’11).
Pratt’s Department of Industrial Design, in collaboration with Italian furniture firm Cappellini, recently presented an exhibition of furniture designs at the 23rd annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), which was held at New York City's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center from May 14–17. For the third year in a row, Pratt was selected to exhibit at ICFF—North America’s singular showcase for contemporary design—and was awarded one of six 200-square-foot school booth spaces by GLM, the producer and manager of the fair.
Works by Pratt students and recent alumni were also featured at the George Nakashima Woodworker, S.A. and Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS) booths at ICFF. Exhibition design students under the direction of Interior Design Professor Jon Otis designed the booth for esteemed furniture maker George Nakashima Woodworker, S.A., while the DIS booth featured chair designs by four students from Pratt's architecture and design programs who previously participated in the DIS study abroad program.
Pratt affiliates also exhibited work in conjunction with ICFF. Architecture Professsor Haresh Lalvani and industrial design alumnus Chen Chen (B.I.D. ’07) are exhibiting works as part of "Fraternal Twins" at Moss Gallery through June 30. Model Citizens NYC 2011, organized by Industrial Design alumni Mika Braakman, Tiffany Burnett, and Kristina Drury, exhibited at the Chelsea Art Museum from May 13–15. This third-annual design event included an exhibition and pop-up shop of work in a variety of art and design disciplines by over 90 independent and emerging designers, including many current Pratt students and alumni.
Pratt's Department of Industrial Design was chosen to exhibit at this year’s ICFF for its theme, “Perpetual Motion,” which was conceived by lead faculty advisor Mark Goetz (B.I.D. ’86) to challenge his graduate students and Adjunct Assistant Professor Tim Richartz’s undergraduate industrial design students to create modern and innovative furniture design prototypes that remain rooted in boldly disruptive ideas, while keeping the dynamism of design moving into the future. The most successful designs by nine Pratt students were displayed at the fair and were selected by a team of esteemed designers and industry professionals invited by Cappellini marketing representative Frederick McSwain, who provided guidance to the students throughout the creative process.
“The premise of ‘Perpetual Motion’ is to look at the future of furniture design by coming up with fresh, new ideas that incorporate technology and sustainability and that potentially envision updates to classic designs for the future,” said Goetz. “We were thrilled that Cappellini, a company well-known for nurturing young designers, helped to guide and advise us in this endeavor,” he added.
Participating industrial design students included Kyung ho Chang (B.I.D. ’11), Wang I Chao (M.I.D. ’12), Arnold Chu (M.I.D. ’12), Chun Chun (M.I.D. ’12), Edward Hale (M.I.D. ’12), Li-Rong Liao (M.I.D. ’11), Dana Oxiles (M.I.D. ’11), Jesse Trentadue (M.I.D. ’12), and Elizabeth Joy Wong (B.I.D. ’11).
Photos: Amy Aronoff, Armando Rafael (B.F.A. '00), Wang I Chao (M.I.D. ’12) (Folded Felt Table)
Gateway Editors
Reader Comments (2)
"North America’s singular showcase for contemporary design." I think this phrase might be modified to read "One of North America's showcases for contemporary furniture design." Before using the phrase again, the writer might want to take the time to compare the number of products at and the square footage of ICFF with Neocon, coming up soon in Chicago. It would be good to see which Pratt grads are participating in Neocon as well.