Savant Garde

Savant Garde is a singular bench hewn from a solid slab of oak, measured, sliced, torched into oblivion, fossilized by relentless flames and held together with hand-wrought, brass sutures. :: snaps fingers ::

Like its polysemantic name, the piece travels several paths of inquiry:

Conceived as a formally aspirational, yet fully functional object, it makes tangible an eternal attempt to reconcile the ‘low’ of ‘craft’ and the ‘high’ of ‘art.’ It, at once, embodies the ingenuity and curiosity required of labor with an equitable, and respectful nod to an aesthetic wisdom that is both innate and instinctual.

It is also a subtle commentary on the influence of our origins and their impact on how first we develop, then assign, value. In collaboration with an old friend, it is also, by extension, a story about the accumulation of experience, the type of collaborative knowledge and skill honed carefully, and only, with time. It is a physical object that builds a metaphorical bridge backward, toward our shared history, to a place brimming with people no stranger to efforting. Aligned with both our experiences from childhood, combined with our current client work, it paradoxically champions progress as it braces for a much less simple future.