UK Design Professors' Work Acquired by France's National Centre for Visual Arts
LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 8, 2014) — A chair designed by University of Kentucky College of Design faculty members Anne Filson and Gary Rohrbacher has been acquired by France's National Centre for Visual Arts (NCAP).
Filson and Rohrbacher are both assistant professors in architecture at UK School of Architecture. Their "5 to 30 Minute Chair" was purchased for the center's permanent collection, and is among 72 designs acquired during 2013, including iconic works by Enzo Mari, Hella Jongerius, Konstantin Grcic, and Erwan and Ronan Bouroullec.
This year, CNAP’s acquisition committee sought representative works that engage emerging modes of production, like collaborative practices, open source, distributed manufacturing, and DIY. The "5 to 30 Minute Chair" is part of Filson and Rohrbacher’s open source furniture line, AtFAB that demonstrates open design and networked, distributed manufacturing.
AtFAB furniture is available for individuals to download, parametrically customize, and then fabricate out of local materials with CNC machines. AtFAB has been downloaded and locally made by a global community of makers; has been commissioned by private clients, including MakerBot Industries; and has been exhibited in a wide range of venues from Maker Faires to Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s School of Architecture + Planning. Called an "IKEA Disruptor" and "iTunes for Furniture," Filson and Rohrbacher’s furniture line has been featured by NPR, Le Monde, The Economist, and The Atlantic, as well as by de Architect, MAKE and the Network for Business Sustainability.
Created in 1982, the CNAP is committed to the field of contemporary artistic creation. It fosters and supports artistic creation in France in all areas of the visual arts: painting, performance art, sculpture, photography, installation art, video, multimedia, graphic arts, design and graphic design. It pays close attention to young artists, provides its expertise and support to the emergence of new forms and assists artists and contemporary art professionals.
MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu