Notman Teague, still from a film by Hugo Faraco created for the exhibition ‘From Lawn Road to South Chicago’, at New York gallery R & Company, 2020
Studying design history, Chicago-based designer Norman Teague couldn't find a figure that represented him. ‘Design history needs to reinvent itself in a whole lot of ways,' he says in a new short film by Hugo Faraco. ‘Your world is the history that you read about, and if you’re wrapping your head around the things that really say that you don’t belong here, then we have to create other books, or we have to create another world.'
The film was released on the occasion of New York gallery R & Company's exhibition ‘From Lawn Road to South Chicago: Progressive Plywood in Times of Change', where Teague's work was presented alongside historical plywood design from Gerald Summers and Marcel Breuer.
On display at R & Company, Norman Teague's Sinmi Stools are shown next to Gerald Summers plywood chair, designed by Gerald Summers for Makers of Simple Furniture, England, 1934
The exhibition featured Teague's Africana Chairs as well as his Sinmi Stool, inspired, he explains, by the word ‘chill' and images of people relaxing by leaning on a car or on a sofa's backrest. ‘I settled upon this motion that could intrigue a person to approach it but that was also really inviting to anyone,' he says. Named after the Yoruba word for ‘relax', the Sinmi stool is the result of five years of research into bent plywood, and is produced by Teague in collaboration with a team of young designers and Black artisans from the South Side of Chicago, while leather goods specialist Yohance Lacour collaborated on the leather saddles.
INFORMATION
-
Tuneshine is a new way of bringing back the lost art of the album coverThe compact Tuneshine screen uses LED tech to illuminate the artwork of whatever you’re currently streaming
-
Inside the new theatre at Jacob’s Pillow and its ‘magic box’, part of a pioneering complex designed for danceJacob’s Pillow welcomes the reborn Doris Duke Theatre by Mecanoo, a new space that has just opened in the beloved Berkshires cultural hub for the summer season
-
What to see at Rencontres d’Arles 2025, questioning power structures in the state and familySuppressed memories resurface in sharply considered photography at Rencontres d'Arles 2025. Here are some standout photographers to see
-
The owner of this restored Spanish Colonial home turned it into a gallery – with no social media allowedCasa Francis in LA is a private residence, but recently opened its doors to one member of the public at a time for an exhibition centred around domesticity
-
This Manhattan apartment and studio is a shrine to artThis New York artist's home is both comfortable and flexible, acting as a studio and a showcase for his work and collected pieces. We take a tour for our interiors series, The Inside Story
-
Life’s a beach at this tropical-glam Miami developmentFive Park Miami Beach mixes streamlined glamour with vibrant colour, and is the focus of Wallpaper’s interiors series, The Inside Story, as the Floridian city holds its annual Grand Prix
-
A Frank Lloyd Wright lamp broke auction record at Sotheby’s – fetching $7.5 millionThe architect's ‘Double-Pedestal’ lamp, which was designed for the Dana House in 1903, has become his most valuable work ever offered at auction
-
This Colorado ski chalet combines Rocky Mountains warmth with European design nousWood and stone meet artisanal and antique pieces in this high-spec, high-design mountain retreat
-
Hilltop hideaway: Colony creates tranquil interiors for a Catskills retreatPerched between two mountain ranges, this Catskills retreat marries bold, angular architecture with interiors that offer warmth and texture
-
Rio Kobayashi’s new furniture bridges eras, shown alongside Fritz Rauh’s midcentury paintings at Blunk SpaceFurniture designer Rio Kobayashi unveils a new series, informed by the paintings of midcentury artist Fritz Rauh, at California’s Blunk Space
-
Brooklyn furniture studio Stillmade unveils its first collaborative design seriesStillmade brings to life the designs of four New Yorkers – Pat Kim, Danny Kaplan, Michele Quan and Mignogna Studio
