TRNK digitalises furniture by international designers for new online exhibition

TRNK's 'REND' online exhibition comes to life in a film produced in collaboration with Hannes Lippert of Form & Rausch. Photo: AFP Relaxnews

"REND" features a selection of newly commissioned and limited-edition pieces by TRNK's in-house product line and three guest international designers.

Among them are Sisan Lee and Fict Studio, both from Seoul, and Disciplina Studio from Mexico City.

The group exhibition centres on mixed materiality across metal and stone through each designer's eyes, with each piece on show exploring common contrasts between "hard and soft," "rigid and flexible," as well as "warm and cold."

Earlier this May, Collective Design collaborated with Frieze New York to stage the fair's first exhibition dedicated to design. Photo: @collectivedf

"The works find middle ground in the raw edges of Disciplina Studio's marble tables, and the plush upholstery of TRNK collection's steel-based seating. Works by Sisan Lee and Fict Studio directly engage the weight and rigidity of their chosen mediums, presenting furniture that appears ineffably light yet layered," TRNK said in a statement.

"REND" was originally slated to coincide with Frieze New York, although the Covid-19 pandemic forced TRNK to present the exhibition online.

"I actually became excited by the idea of re-conceiving the concept into the digital format. The environment that we produced with Form & Rausch is very similar to how I dreamed of presenting these products but never could have been realised in a physical form. It became a collaborative exercise of imagination with no limitations," TRNK co-founder Tariq Dixon told *Wallpaper.

The ‘Fragment Series’ by @fictstudio in a newly-commissioned white marble with translucent resin. Photo: @trnknyc

TRNK is not the only creative studio moving to the digital realm in reaction to the global health crisis.

Earlier this May, Collective Design collaborated with Frieze New York to stage the fair's first exhibition dedicated to design.

"Color and Production: From the Atom to the Void," curated by London-based writer and historian Libby Sellers, focused on how technological developments have influenced the use of colour within the fields of art and design.

The digital presentation showcased historical, modern and contemporary artworks and design objects, alongside commissioned pieces straight from the studios of James Welling, Cody Hoyt, Sabine Marcellis, Formafantasma and Tanya Aguaniga.