the exhibition ‘bring it to the table’ opened last saturday at the spring gallery in brooklyn to coincide with the events taking place for the design week in new york.

‘the theme of the exhibition stems from ‘the table’ as a place where we sit, eat, discuss. the need to readjust and
focus towards a more enjoyable, clean and responsible way of living is best represented by the philosophy behind
projects as such as slow food and how it reflects a collective, contemporary thinking that can be applied to other
disciplines. this is the slow revolution! through curation, anna cosentino and steve butcher of spring would like to
‘bring to the table’ results of successful collaborations; examples of design that gives back; show the importance
of artisanal skills and their application in design and art; and ultimately the new interpretation(s) of luxury.
featured in the show are – inna alesina; artecnica design with conscience; sandra bautista; deborah bowness;
jane d’arensbourg; prisca fey; gesine hackenberg; ibride; katya marritz; justin richel; joey roth; richard saja;
verena schreppel and patrick weder.‘

‘how sweet’ it is by natasha chetiyawardana. a sugar man sits on the precipice that is the edge of a cup, dipping his feet into the drink to test the waters. a little poke from a sugar-hungry finger pushes him over the edge.

new york design week 2008: bring it to the table


‘nano ecologies’ by will carey, daisy ginsberg, eva kellenberger. the food industry is exploring nanoengineering in
two very different areas: functional foods (improving nutrition and fat reduction), and ‘interactive foods’.
kraft is developing a ‘programmable’ drink that you design after you’ve bought it.  activate it with a correctly-tuned
microwave transmitter to release the nanocapsules containing your chosen ingredients, and once consumed,
the remaining inactivated options will simply pass through your body as waste. by harvesting these unused
nano-particles found in ‘programmable’ food using microbial cells and enzymes present in our bodies and those of
animals, we could create new personal eco-systems, repositioning the human in the food cycle. the reformulation
of these nano-particles could be used to produce new substances controlled and manufactured within the home,
reducing waste from nano-enriched food and promoting self-sufficiency. nanotechnology is considered as the
solution to our environmental problems through dramatic schemes such as mass-filtration of polluted air using
carbon nano-tubes. but a future nanotech-enabled sustainability might instead happen quietly, at home.

new york design week 2008: bring it to the table‘spam lite’ by michael mcdevitt. a commentary on the importance of whole foods, a visual pun on arguably the most iconic “non-food” that exists. spam lite comes sealed, and the user must open the lid of the light with the ring pull, a gesture normally only associated with opening canned food. then, the pink light is revealed and the repurposed object lives as a reminder of the choices we make.

new york design week 2008: bring it to the table‘wishing table’ by stijn ossevoort. inspired by the brothers grimm’s fairytale, “the wishing-table, the gold ass and the cudgel in the sack”, stijn created a wishing-table. the table is not limited to those who desire a splendid meal but can grant any wish you desire for. so please take the cup and whisper your wish inside, place it back on the table and your wish will be honored.

new york design week 2008: bring it to the table

gallery website: http://www.spring3d.net