Parsons The New School for Design announced FLOW, a special exhibition of student work, at this year's International Contemporary Furniture Fair. The exhibition features a juried body of work from students in the product design program that explores the theme of flow, including the 2010 I.D. Annual Design Review award-winning project OTO Sound & Life.
"We are thrilled to be participating in the ICFF, the premier showcase for cutting-edge design," said Robert Kirkbride, Director of the BFA Product Design program at Parsons. "Using the concept of 'flow' as a starting point, our students created objects that are beautiful, functional, and conceptually challenging."
A central feature of the installation is three mobile Watertables, convertible dining and worktables designed and constructed by Parsons students for a special water-themed dinner and 24-hour design slam last fall. In keeping with their sustainable nature, the watertables serve a dual purpose at the exhibition-acting as both individual pieces and support structures for the display of the other Parsons work, which ranges from furniture to medical devices and highlights the numerous interpretations of flow.
Featured projects include OTO Sound & Life by Chika Nakayama, a ceramic pitcher crafted using ancient techniques of ceramic instrument making. The piece was selected for a Design Distinction Award in this year's I.D. Design Review.
Other highlights include Chelsea Briganti's Mademoicell, a simple, medical-grade silicone device and storage kit that empowers women to collect and store their own stem cells from menstrual blood. Zackary Lauth asks visitors to reconsider cultural perceptions of good and bad with Reconstructed, an iconic Parsons table deconstructed by termites. Designed Constraint, a porcelain tea set with a multidirectional pot designed by David Lee, explores habits and flows of consumption. And Samta Shah's felted children's furniture, namda, aims to preserve traditional Indian handcrafts.