Huda Al-Aithan's "Dreamer's Chair"
Thursday, November 5, 7:30 p.m.
Presented by the Figge Art Museum
A trio of gifted artists will gather online for a special November 5 event hosted by the Figge Art Museum, with the Davenport venue presenting Virtual Artist Talks with three talents who have works on display in the museum's current Seating by Design exhibition: Cahle Correll, Vinicius Lima, and Yi Xie.
Curated by Professor Monica Correia, Seating by Design features a range of innovative furniture designs created by former students of the University of Iowa’s 3D Design MFA, MA, and BFA programs. Designs by the former Head of Design of the School of Art and Art History, Professor Hung-Shu Hu, and Professor Correia will also be featured. Sculpturally dynamic as well as functional, the seating designs include chairs, stools, and soft-form seating, among others. Together, these designs demonstrate the varied materials, contemporary technologies, and formal solutions possible in the 3D design field. Several of the works have been exhibited internationally, including at the Salone del Mobile in Milan, Italy, and at the Stockholm Furniture Fair in Stockholm, Sweden.
Cahle Correll was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1994, received his BFA in 3D Design from the University of Iowa, and is currently a Project Manager/Designer for Pancheros Franchise Corporation in Coralville. His interest in designing stems from his hobby of woodworking, and Correll's interest in furniture design was sparked during a furniture design class he took with Correia, who taught him how to integrate unique design with practical assembly. Correll uses geometric forms that are all manufactured through Computer Technology, and his work has been exhibited in both Iowa and the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York City.
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1982, Vinicius Lima received his MA and MFA degrees from the University of Iowa in Design and is now Associate Professor of Graphic Design at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. Lima’s interest in furniture design started back in his undergraduate years during a model-making class with Correia and continued into graduate school, his work having strong geometric forms and employing computer technology in the manufacturing. In addition to the Figge, Lima’s creations have been displayed in design exhibitions in the Portugal, Turkey, China, and Slovenia.
Yi Xie was born in Wuhan, China in 1990. Having grown up with parents who always travel and collect arts, she developed a tremendous love of art and design, and majored in Environmental Art at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan. After her graduation, she moved to Iowa City and joined the 3D Design Department at the University of Iowa in 2012, mainly focused on exploring furniture and interior design. She received her MA and MFA degrees in 2016. Due to her previous education background and working experience, Yi sets her goal as merging both disciplines, innovation of design and technology use, as well as the optimization of design through technology. She works for projects in different areas including interior design, furniture, signage, and graphic arts, and is currently working as an interior design coordinator in Dallas, Texas.
The Virtual Artist Talks with Cahle Correll, Vinicius Lima, and Yi Xie are free, but advance registration is required, and participants will receive an e-mail with a Zoom link two hours before the program begins at 6:30 p.m. on November 5. Seating by Design itself will be on display through January 17, and more information on both the exhibit and its companion events is available by calling (563)326-7804 or visiting FiggeArtMuseum.org.
