Thomas Barger's first solo exhibition ‘Sugar Dish’ was held in Supply Seoul in Seongsu-dong from July 25 to Aug. 15. Thomas Barger, a young furniture designer born in 1992, majored in architecture and landscaping, and produces furniture of cartoonish shapes and intense colours. Not knowing how to make furniture because he was not trained as a furniture designer, he began furniture design with discarded IKEA furniture found on the street by adding paper pulp to it. This production method soon became part of his unique design language.
The powerful image of his furniture means that it looks like sculpture, but they are also practical items satisfying their function. A biscuit-like object with a bite taken out of it is a hanger; a round volume like a tree trunk with three legs is a basketball locker; a large curved object made of a bent white plate with regular holes is a relaxation chair on which one can sit back. A black chair with a lot of heart-shaped perforations looks as if a bush is rolling up the backrest and finishes with a bud on the top, which is a homage to Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Hill House chair. Not fully covered with paper pulp, some of his furniture exposes its original materials, which helps visitors to intuitively see through Thomas Barger’s furniture production method.
ⓒJi Yohan