Artificial Intelligence

Digital techniques and computer-controlled laser cutting gave a smart, high-tech edge to the new pieces on show at New York’s ICFF.

Coming hot on the heels of the annual Milan Salone, the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York has to work hard to keep jaded design critics excited. But with attendance up eight percent on last year, the organisers are clearly hitting the right note with their focus on design conferences and seminars, and promotion of emerging designers.

Many of the themes seen at Milan also came through in the new works presented at ICFF, though with a twist. Bent, laser-cut and folded metals were popular, appearing in every form from seating to kitchenware.The design trio Buchegger, Denoth and Feichtner presented an offbeat take with the Cutt cutlery set; utensils that the angle-and-facet obsessed architect Daniel Liebeskind (who ventured into furniture design recently) would be proud to use. John Niero’s slinky chair and ottoman (somewhat reminiscent of Fletcher Vaughan’s Landscape chair and ottoman) provided a more fluid interpretation of the metallic direction.

Surrealism was another strong movement at the fair, from oversize and abstract lighting to quirky smaller pieces, like Karim Rashid’s Creemy mug that called to mind a traditional African mask. One of the more popular surrealist pieces was the work of New Zealand’s own Patrick Morris. Coming from the Morris and James pottery dynasty, (known best for colourful tiles, platters and planters), Patrick created the topsy-turvy Antipode planter, a unique and chic way to pot your favourite indoor plants.

The wallpaper craze that has held on for the last few years proved to still have life in it, with several designers moving away from nature-based patterns to bold geometric styles with a digital edge, some even using digital production instead of silk-screening. Digital printing costs around the same as silk-screening, but gives more consistent colour and more scope for pattern creation. Brooklyn-based Cavern Wallpaper’s bold Navajo design was a hit.

Finally, as in past years, sustainable design proved to be a sustainable drawcard. Eco-friendly lighting was particularly strong, with Makoto Tojiki’s Archimedes’ Dream light a standout – a swirl of gently glowing OLED lights, with Archimedes’ famous constant, Pi, trailing around the loops into infinity. MW