Desigers Wendy Maruyama and Tom Loeser exhibit new work for the first time together in New York City in over 30 years in Colorama at Superhouse. This whimsical space is freeing, healing, and shockingly bright. Good designers know that child-like wonder, not the stuffy adult kind, is what touches our souls. Tapping in to that unrestrained joy of creation is somewhat harder as we age, a muscle that must actively be exercised lest it be lost to atrophy.
but but but felt stool and Switchback seating by Tom Loeser \\\ Rx and With Salt or Without wall art by Wendy Maruyama
Maruyama and Loeser understand this fully, releasing themselves from the rigors of traditional furniture craft with organic details and a sense of fantastical quickness, at odds with the slower, hand-hewn nature of the collection. Each facet, fillet, and surface has been considered, employing materials in unique combinations that we’ve never seen before. The distinctive edges of the work shown above is adorned in black and white stripes, making use of planes usually hidden or unconsidered. This choice in itself is charming, allowing for a level of detail and consideration quite rare in furniture design.
Switchback seating by Tom Loeser \\\ Rx and With Salt or Without wall art by Wendy Maruyama
Switchback seating by Tom Loeser \\\ Rx and With Salt or Without wall art by Wendy Maruyama
Switchback seating and Chairiot table by Tom Loeser \\\ With Salt or Without wall art by Wendy Maruyama
Each piece builds off of each other, the overall effect quite impressive. The rendered details, all of which clearly done by hand, add a personal touch to the work. This grounds us in the incredible amount of knowledge these two designers have brought to the table, striving upstream against the flow of conventional minimalist design. It is quite difficult to maintain this sense of curiosity that Maruyama and Loeser have managed to foster, especially in times of rapid change. They stand the test of time, again showing exactly how important human touch is, celebrating those that came before us.
but but but felt stool and Switchback seating by Tom Loeser \\\ Rx wall art by Wendy Maruyama
but but but felt stool by Tom Loeser \\\ Cadence wall art by Wendy Maruyama
The concentric layers of felt shown above are such a beautiful detail, simply allowing the unfinished side of the material to be shown on the top. This, in juxtaposition to the relatively industrial hardware that keeps the stool together, is quite nice. Below, hand-carved undulations on the table are adorned with a dusty blue and brilliant red, the contrast between the tones helping the red achieve an incredible intensity.
Chairiot table by Tom Loeser \\\ Nik Nak wall art by Wendy Maruyama
Chairiot table by Tom Loeser
Chairiot table by Tom Loeser
Chesterbench by Tom Loeser
Chesterbench by Tom Loeser
Chesterbench by Tom Loeser
Chesterbench by Tom Loeser
Switchback seating by Tom Loeser
Switchback seating by Tom Loeser
Superhouse is a New York City-based art and furniture gallery, specializing in modern and historical pieces alike. Celebrating the unconventional, founder and director Stephen Markos is especially drawn to sculpture, 1980s art furniture, and contemporary craft. He attributes his upbringing in New England, surrounded by all manners of vintage and folk works, to his lifelong passion for art and design.
Switchback seating by Tom Loeser
Wendy Maruyama is a prolific furniture designer, working and teaching for over 40 years in a frequently unforgiving industry. Early in her career, she adopted folk techniques and feminist ideologies in inventive ways, touching viewers across the globe with her specific blend of sensitivity and color. In recent decades, she has been delving into her Japanese-American heritage, and the sometimes fraught history that comes along with that identity. “The social-practice component of her artwork is successful in combining art, advocacy, education, and community. Her work manages to pull you in with stirring visuals and keep you engaged with multiple layers of content,” explains Elizabeth Kozlowski, independent curator and editor of Surface Design.
Wendy Maruyama
Deeply guided by the history of craft and design, Tom Loeser is a furniture designer drawn to the dysfunctional just as much as the functional. Entrenched in the history and technique of craft furniture, his work embodies a highly considered, yet fantastical approach. In 2010, he collaborated with his wife, Bird Ross, on the reception desk at the Madison Children’s museum, which is unconventional, intensely interactive, and has a wry sense of wit. Usually involving carving and painting, his pieces make one think of another timeline, transporting and otherworldly objects born out of careful respect and attention.
Tom Loeser
Colorama is open until January 11, 2025 at Superhouse, 120 Walker Street, 6R, New York, New York. For more information, visit superhouse.us.
Photography by Matthew Gordon Studio.
