colored pencil tables by nendo

‘colored pencil tables’ by nendoall images © hiroshi iwasaki

being presented as part of the saint-etienne design biennial 2013 in france – on from march 14th to 31st – is a collection ofdesigns that nurture the art of illustration by nendo. the ‘colored pencil tables’ are a series of furniture pieces created using a techniquecalled ‘udukuri’ which involves carving away the soft parts of cypress boards so that the harder curves and lines of the wood grain stand out.the boards are then covered with paper and traced in colored pencil as a playful method of transferring the wood grain onto the paper.the pieces fuse the subtle shades and blur of the pencils with the raised wood grain – celebrating the dynamic qualities of texture and color.  

the series of furniture pieces are created using a technique called ‘udukuri’

‘udukuri’ is a technique that involves carving away the soft parts of cypress boards so that the harder curves and lines of the wood grain stand out

the boards are then covered with paper and traced in colored pencil as a playful method of transferring the wood grain onto the paper

the pieces fuse the subtle shades and blur of the pencils with the raised wood grain – celebrating the dynamic qualities of texture and color

a detail of the texture

the various iterations of the technique

‘colored-pencil table’ installation by nendo at the biennale internationale design saint-etienne 2013image © designboom

the full-range of rainbow colored piecesimage © designboom

biennale internationale design saint-étienne 8th edition from 14th to 31st march 2013empathy, or experiencing the other50 exhibitions, 29 rendez-vous, 60 places

created in 1998, the biennale internationale design saint-étienne has established itself as a major design event for the professional and general public, on an international scale. a rendez-vous firmly rooted in innovation, prospective, and research through design.

the 8th edition will run from the 14th through to the 31st march 2013, with the ambition of further developing interactions between the saint-etienne region and designers, local cultural and economic actors, and national and international invited guests. the biennale is taking place throughout the saint-etienne region, hosting more than forty exhibitions at the cité du design and other external sites, along with conferences and events organized by numerous different actors.