Max Lamb

Max Lamb (born 1980) is a British designer[1] who combines traditional - if not prehistoric - design methods with digital design. He is known for employing highly unusual approaches to using natural materials, including pouring pewter onto sand,[2] and volcanic rock. He is also known for his strenuous and lengthy methods of production through his many YouTube videos.

Lamb was born in Cornwall[1] in 1980 and became interested in design at a young age. He was raised by the countryside so nature was important to him. He attended Amersham & Wycombe College for art and design in 2000 where he received several awards. He also received a City and Guilds Photography Certificate in 2000. He later attended Northumbria University, receiving a degree in Three Dimensional Design. In 2006 he achieved his master's degree in design products from the Royal College of Art.[2] A year later he started teaching Industrial Design at Ecole Cantonale d'Art de Lausanne in Switzerland, and he has also taught at the Royal College of Art.

Works

Lamb works with a diverse range of materials including but not limited to stone, wood, metal, plastic, as well as "Marmoreal", a terrazzo-like composite material that he himself invented.[2][3] He is known for his innovative approach and use of natural materials within his designs. An example of this experimentation is his triangular pewter stool, which he created by digging the form of the stool into the sand and pouring liquid pewter into the sand form. He has also made a pewter stool that combines hexagonal shapes. Another example of natural elements used in his art work is his nano-crystalline copper dishware collection.

Lamb often uses traditional techniques to achieve innovative contemporary solutions. His Urushi Series is a collection of seating, tables and cabinets finished with Urushi lacquer from Waijima, Japan. The structure of each piece is obtained by cleaving chestnut with green-woodworking techniques in order to preserve the natural appearance of the wood. Urushi lacquer is then applied following traditional Japanese methods.[4]

Lamb's respect for natural materials, specifically wood, is evident in the project 'My Grandfather's Tree by Max Lamb'. Shown for the first time at Somerset House (London, UK) in 2015, the project was a compilation of 131 logs installed and arranged in the same order the tree was meticulously cut. Originally the work formed a 187 years old Ash tree from Monckton Walk Farm (Yorkshire) . As the tree started getting rotten, the designer decided to give it a new history; this resulted in a collection of 'general purpose' logs that respect the tree's life by revealing its growth rings, knots, branches and crotches.[5]

The designer's extensive practice was epitomized in an exhibition entitled "Exercises in Seating" (2015) where he arranged in a circle 40 uniquely designed chairs that he made using various materials and techniques spanning the course of nearly ten years; the exhibition was held in Milan, Italy, during the city's renowned design week.[6][7][8]

Exhibitions

2016

2015

  • My Grandfather's Tree by Max Lamb – Presented by Gallery FUMI, Somerset House, London, UK
  • Ayan Farah, Max Lamb, & Chris Succo - Almine Rech Gallery, London, UK
  • Echo - Exhibition -The Gallery at Plymouth College of Art, Plymouth, UK
  • Marmoreal, Design Miami/Basel - Dzek, Basel, Switzerland
  • Exercises in Seating - Milan, Italy

2014

2012

  • Making Ideas: Experiments in Design, GlassLab, The Corning Museum of Glass, New York, US
  • Mark-ing, British Council, Japan Design Week, Tokyo, Japan
  • Rocky Crockery for 1882 Ltd, London Design Festival, London, UK
  • RAW CRAFT, Fine Thinking In Contemporary Furniture, touring Exhibition by Crafts Council - Collect 2012, London, UK

2011

  • Studioware - Gallery FUMI, London, UK
  • Superba - J.F. Chen, Los Angeles, US
  • Designs of the Year – Design Museum, London, UK
  • Deptford Design Market Challenge, Studio Raw, London Design Festival, London, UK
  • Prototypes & Experiments IV – The Aram Gallery, London, UK

2010

  • The New Domestic Landscape - Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, UK
  • Commissioned - Milan Design Week, Milan, Italy
  • Objects with a Void - Workshop For Potential Design, London, UK
  • The Vermiculated Ashlar, HSBC Private Bank Design Collection Commission & London Design Festival - Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK[9]

2009

  • Corn Craft, Gallery FUMI, London, UK
  • Passionsweg Max Lamb, R. & L. Lobmeyer - Vienna Design Week, Austria
  • Tokyo Designers Week - Tokyo, Japan

2008

  • Beau Sauvage - Gallery Libby Sellers, London, England
  • Max Lamb Solo Show - Johnson Trading Gallery, New York, US
  • Materialism - Gallery FUMI, London, UK
  • Solids of Revolution - Design Miami/Basel, Basel, Switzerland

2007

  • Top Ten - British Council, Milan, Italy
  • Max & Hannah Lamb - Godolphin House, Cornwall, UK
  • Inspired by Cologne - Imm Colgne, Germany
  • Decompressions Chamber – Northern Gallery of Contemporary Art, Sunderland, UK

2006

  • Max Lamb & Robert Phillips - Canary Wharf, London, UK
  • Design Mart - Design Museum, London
  • Made by Machine - Milan Design Week, Italy
  • Made in Nigeria - Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, Nigeria.
  • The Greenhouse - Stockholm Furniture Fair, Sweden.

2005

  • The Shop - The Royal College of Art, London, UK
  • ISOS Collection - Furniture Works, London, UK
  • The Castle Keep - Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

2004

  • Work in Progress Show - The Royal College of Art, London, UK
  • Design UK Selection - Gainsborough Studios, London, UK
  • Made in Newcastle - Hamals Design Shop, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
  • Pulse - Earls Court, London, UK
  • Design London - Superstudio 13, Milan Design Week, Milan, Italy

2003

  • New Designers, Urban Interiors - Commonwealth Institute, London, UK
  • Max Fraser’s Design Pick of 2003 - Gainsborough Studios, London, UK

2000

  • Foundation Exhibition, Amersham & Wycombe College – Amersham, The Netherlands

Awards

2010 - HSBC Design Collection Commission

2009 - 'The Essence of the 21st Century' Courvoisier Award

2008 - ‘Designer of the Future’ - Design Miami/Basel

2004 - Hettich International Design Award

Museums acquisitions and collections

Books / Publications

My Grandfather's Tree (2015)

Exercises in Seating (2015)

China Granite Project II (2010)

References

  1. 1 2 Maura Egan (16 March 2016), "The Furniture Designer Max Lamb Is at Home with Honest Materials", The New York Times
  2. 1 2 3 Natalia Rachlin (8 September 2015), "AD Innovator: Max Lamb", Architectural Digest, retrieved 16 November 2016
  3. ↑ Alyn Griffiths (16 April 2014), "Man-made marble by Max Lamb used to create camouflaged furniture installation", Dezeen, retrieved 16 November 2016
  4. ↑ Lamb, Max (2015). Excerises in Seating. UK: Dent-de-Leone. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-907908-24-8.
  5. ↑ Lamb, Max (2015). My Grandfather's Tree. UK: Dent-de-Leone. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-907908-28-6.
  6. ↑ "5vie milano: max lamb's exercises in seating at milan design week", designboom, 12 April 2015
  7. ↑ Natalia Rachlin (16 April 2015), Max Lamb: Exercises in Seating, Nowness, retrieved 16 November 2016
  8. ↑ Teshia Treuhaft, Material Meets Emotion: An Interview with Max Lamb on Exercises in Seating, Core77, retrieved 16 November 2016
  9. ↑ webmaster@vam.ac.uk, Victoria and Albert Museum, Digital Media. "Video: Max Lamb: Inspired by the Cast Courts". www.vam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  10. ↑ "Applied Arts, Craftwork and Industrial Design Commission 2015 | Centre national des arts plastiques". www.cnap.fr. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  11. ↑ "Max Lamb | People | Collection of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum". collection.cooperhewitt.org. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.