All photos courtesy of the Wexler Gallery.
Again in February, Jon Binzen and I visited the Wexler Gallery in Philadelphia, PA. We had the pleasure of assembly Jomo Tariku, a designer and woodworker from Ethiopia. His exhibition featured a big physique of labor impressed by African design, by means of historic artifacts, wildlife, and landscapes. Over thirty years of analysis and industrial design is mirrored in his furnishings, by means of the execution and creativity in his items.
Lots of his items had been displayed with the inspiration above or beside it. Jomo says “I’m displaying you these inspirational works above mine, to display what designers can do once they take concepts from anyplace – for me, Africa – and do, by means of testing, sketching, ideation, create new items.”
Jomo works from small store, however outsources a lot of his furnishings items to bigger outlets who can accommodate his manufacturing wants. These craftspeople, all throughout the US, are sometimes engaged on considered one of two of his items completely, to make sure the design is executed to the highest quality doable. David Bohnhoff, a furnishings maker in Columbia, Virginia labored with Jomo on the primary iterations of the “Nyala chair”, a 3 legged chair impressed by an antelope with the identical title. David Sterling, a woodturner in Richmond Virginia handles his massive turned items just like the “Mukecha Stool”. Justin Nelson of Fernweh Woodworking, in Bend, Oregon are producing a small run of his Nyala chairs as properly.
You’ll find Jomo’s items in locations just like the Met and Philadelphia Museum of Artwork, and may view extra of his furnishings and design work at www.jomofurniture.com. The chance to interact with these items up shut was inspiring, and I hope you discover the identical on this intimate interview.
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