Exhibitions
Ingrained
Various Artists
April 1 - May 8, 2022
Exterior view of installation
(Photography by Sean Davidson)
Superhouse is honored to present Ingrained, a group exhibition of six women and non-binary artists and designers working with wood. The focus of the show seeks to challenge the traditionally male-dominated industry, with these six makers breaking gender barriers, much like the generation of women makers before them. The exhibition takes place April 1 – May 8, 2022 at Superhouse Vitrine. The all-new works on view demonstrate a wide range of contemporary wood craft by a sample of rising star makers today: Sarah Burns, Natalie Ochoa, Nifemi Ogunro, Isabel Rower, Myriam Simard-Parent, and Shaina Tabak.
“This exhibition does not purport to be a conclusive survey of women and non-binnary makers working with wood, as most of the artists and designers on view are just from New York City,” says Stephen Markos, founder and director of Superhouse. “But it is meant to generate discourse about the lack of representation today and in some small way work to rectify that disparity.”
Visitors to Superhouse Vitrine will find novel forms made from unconventional techniques. For instance, Montréal-based Myriam Simard-Parent, who is showing in the United States for the first time, created a middle-height rolling “basket” done in a checkerboard of poplar and cherry woods. Natalie Ochoa sculpted a wall-mounted cabinet that, when opened, reveals an assemblage of found objects and a beautiful digital embroidery; the absence of interior shelving leaves the viewer to interpret its function. Shaina Tabak’s pair of wild floor lamps stretch wood nearly as far as it can go. One is carved from a double helix of white oak and cedar, with a thin veneer shade that beautifully diffuses light. The other a triumph of marquetry with a contemporary spin – the interlocking thin pieces of exotic woods have some relief, giving dimensionality to a surface that would typically be flat.
There are other, more traditional forms as well: Sarah Burns’s colorful stacking jewelry boxes, Nifemi Ogunro’s carved stool created from a 3D model, and Isabel Rower’s bent laminated wood series of lighting and furniture that directly interrogates the historically important designs of Alvar Aalto. Rower's furniture and lighting act as 3-dimensional drawings with the artist covering the surface of the wood with abstract forms done in colored pencil.
Installation view
(Photography by Sean Davidson)
The history of studio furniture is often divided into two generations, the first beginning after World War II and the second beginning in the 1970s. However, for women, the second period could really be considered their first, as it was not until 1972 when Title IX legislation was passed that mandated equal opportunities for women in educational settings. Finally, women were able to access resources previously gate-kept and a generation of women entered the studio furniture world, specializing in wood: Michelle Holzapfel, Judy Kensley McKie, Wendy Maruyama, Rosanne Somerson, and others. Still, even by the seminal 1989 exhibition New American Furniture at The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, only 5 women makers were represented among the 25 artists on view. By 2002, the ratio had not improved much with only 27% of the makers being women in the comprehensive exhibition Contemporary Studio Case Furniture: The Inside Story at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Elvehjem Museum of Art.
The current generation of studio makers have been taught by the former (if indirectly): Rosanne Somerson co-founded the Furniture Design program at the Rhode Island School of Design in 1995 and Wendy Maruyama held numerous influential positions at universities on the West Coast. While it may be 50 years since Title IX became law, a number of the women artists and designers in Ingrained report difficulties in penetrating the field of furniture, and particularly when in the woodshop. Superhouse hopes this exhibition will raise awareness of this fact and bring a focus on the varied voices embracing this ancient material.
Sarah Burns
Tabletop Jewelry Box
Pine, maple, milk paint, cork, and mirror
Natalie Ochoa
What Works for Me Might Not Work for You assemblage / altar
Coffee-dyed raw canvas, digital embroidery, grommets, found vase, found shelf, found handle, birch wood, stain, acrylic paint, and satin ribbon
Installation view
(Photography by Sean Davidson)
Nifemi Ogunro
Tilt stool
Hand-carved laminated birch and stain
Isabel Rower
Like a Tree Breathing through its Spectacles Stool
Laminated birch, colored pencil, and clear lacquer
Detail view of Isabel Rower’s colored pencil drawing
(Photography by Sean Davidson)
Isabel Rower
Like a Tree Breathing through its Spectacles Sconce (pair)
Laminated birch, colored pencil, paper, clear lacquer, and lighting parts
Isabel Rower
Like a Tree Breathing through its Spectacles Sconce (individual)
Laminated birch, colored pencil, paper, clear lacquer, and lighting parts
Myriam Simard-Parent
Basket with carved apples
Poplar, cherry, and wheels
Myriam Simard-Parent
Braided Mirror
Basswood and mirror
Detail view of Myriam Simard-Parent’s carved apples
(Photography by Sean Davidson)
Shaina Tabak
Untitled floor lamp
Italian ebony veneer, walnut, white oak, sapele, poplar, birch plywood, engineered wood, lighting parts, and fabric cord
Shaina Tabak
Untitled floor lamp
White oak, cedar, poplar, white oak veneer, lighting parts, and fabric cord
Detail view of Shaina Tabak’s marquetry work
(Photography by Sean Davidson)
About Sarah Burns
Sarah Burns is a New York-based artist and designer working in the field of interiors with a thoughtful approach to bespoke furniture, lighting, murals, and set design. She received a BFA from the University of Minnesota and an MFA from Parsons / The New School. Burns was recently featured in Elle Decor as one of the five rising stars of American Design in a piece by Camille Okhio. She will be exhibiting a new body of work with Marta (Los Angeles, CA) in 2023. Burns lives and works in Queens, New York.
About Natalie Ochoa
Natalie Ochoa grew up in Miami and graduated with a BFA from The School of Visual Arts. Heavily influenced by her spirituality, she uses her art practice as a means to confront her fears, anxieties, and vulnerabilities. Juxtaposing heady themes, with bright colors and naive imagery, Ochoa is able to to find a way to discuss trauma and repressed emotion; something she finds words alone cannot express. While primarily working in digital embroidery, her sculpture also includes metal, wood, and upholstery. Ochoa has held a solo presentation of her work at Cat Box Contemporary (Brooklyn, NY) and participated in group shows with Rhizome (Washington, DC), Superhouse (New York, NY), Walters Gallery (Brooklyn, NY), and others. Ochoa lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
About Nifemi Ogunro
Nifemi Ogunro grew up in North Carolina and while working in New York, still calls the South home. Wood is Ogunro’s primary medium, inspired by its ability to be carved, bent, shaped, colored and generally worked into something beautiful, smooth and functional. Ogunro observes the way the human body interacts with surfaces or in space; how it bends over or avoids objects as a way to generate novel furniture forms. Ogunro has exhibited at IRL Gallery (Brooklyn, NY), Marta (Los Angeles, CA), Mint Gallery (Atlanta, GA), Superhouse (New York, NY), and others. Ogunro was recently named on Sight Unseen's 2021 American Design Hot List and has been featured in Wallpaper and Interior Design. Ogunro lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
About Isabel Rower
Isabel Rower received a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. A multidisciplinary artist, she works in ceramic, wood and drawing. Influenced by the onslaught of media we receive daily through our phones and computers, Rower distills this imagery into colors, abstract patterns, and irregular shapes that appear in her work. Her rebellious early works have transformed into a mystical pursuit of meaning through material explorations and experimental practices. Rower has exhibited a solo presentation at Fairfax Dorn Projects (New York, NY) and participated in group exhibitions with Fisher Parrish Gallery (Brooklyn, NY), Marta (Los Angeles, CA), Superhouse (New York, NY), and others. Rower lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
About Myriam Simard-Parent
Myriam Simard-Parent received a BFA from L'Université du Québec à Montréal and is currently pursuing an MFA from Concordia University. Growing up with biologist parents in Québec City, she developed an interest in plants, animals, and trees early in her life. Initially pursuing a career in painting, when Simard-Parent was exposed to wood, it reminded her of her childhood love of nature and it soon became her primary medium of interest, stating that working with wood “is a bit like a relationship, the more I work with the medium, the stronger my relationship is with it and the more I want to work with it.” Taking influence from still life painting, French-Canadian craft and Surrealism, Simard-Parent explores with a studied but also playful eye, everyday objects, plants and animals. Simard-Parent has exhibited with Art Souterrain (Montréal, Canada), Galerie AVE (Montréal, Canada), Jardin Moore (Mascouche, Canada), and others. Simard-Parent lives and works in Montréal, Canada.
About Shaina Tabak
Shaina Tabak grew up between Long Island and New York City, finding inspiration in the intersection of natural and built environments. Influenced by unique architectural landscapes and the way materials are utilized within them, Tabak explores the relationship between form and function. In her studio, Tabak follows a process that allows the designs of her pieces to dictate their functions, while also subverting particular materials from their common uses. A graduate of The Rhode Island School of Design’s Furniture program, Tabak’s early training in painting and drawing influence her work, with themes of flatness and linework often graphically informing her 3-dimensional projects. Tabak has exhibited with IRL Gallery (Brooklyn, NY), Lubov (New York, NY), Superhouse (New York, NY), and others. Tabak lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.