From a gloomy, Dufferin Street warehouse (last year) to a gleaming granite bank lobby, the high concept design exhibition Radiant Dark is always surprising. Organized by Canadian design retailer MADE, Radiant Dark touched down yesterday at Commerce Court West (199 Bay Street) in the heart of the financial district. The antithesis of a low-rent artist’s garret, the venue perfectly supported the title of this year’s show, Assets & Values.
This is the third annual installment of Radiant Dark (today thru Sunday, 11 am – 7 pm [6 pm Sunday], free), which was conceived to piggyback on the design buzz generated by IDS (now in its 10th year). I bumped into co-founder Julie Nicholson of MADE on my way into last night’s launch party and she was obviously excited about the venue, just then filling up with down-market hipsters. “We like to switch it up,” she said. “A bank seemed like the ultimate setting to explore the show’s themes of worth and value.”
And what an exploration! As always there were some kooky concepts but some of them were deeply provocative like Kathryn Walter’s Trade, above. More art installation than design concept, Walter’s piece featured a huge mound of felt discs, industrial waste. Signage encouraged visitors to “take one and in return, leave something behind.” A nearby table held the fruit of this exchange, odds and ends, tokens of barter. And while the work was conceptually brilliant it was just plain fun for one young guest who climbed on, tossed and chewed the fuzzy discs.
Toronto textile artist Bev Hisey, left, showed a beautiful carpet inspired by the Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke book Blue Gold, a treatise about the commoditization of water. Hisey, who was clearly galvanized by the book, conceived of a rug, made partly of hand-knotted, gold silk, that depicts Canada’s river system, like veins of gold in a mine. “Water is the new oil,” Hisey told me, solemnly.
Woodworking twins, the Brothers Dressler, below left, departed somewhat from their usual practice with Bottle Lights, an apparatus that turns cast-off bottles into a colourful, glowing beacon at the centre of the show. “We’re always interested in turning what would otherwise be waste into useable items,” said Jason Dressler. “And yes, it’s a bit of a departure but there’s wooden collars on the bottles, which are off-cuts from our wood shop.”
Creative reuse and repurposing was a theme seen over and over again throughout the show. Brent Cordner’s Newsworthy lamp for Luflic is actually made of recycled newsprint, elastic mesh and “natural bonding agents”. Furniture designer Rob Southcott “rescued” the discarded dresser, below right, and gave it a signature flourish and a high-gloss finish that turned a tired throwback into a covetable modern statement piece.
In a similar spirit, designer Orest Tataryn’s Superfluous Surplus, below, combines obsolete borosilicate glass tubes with wood, plastic and fabric to create something fresh and valuable, a mesmerizing neon light sculpture.
I’m not sure how Radiant Dark will feel without a shiny, happy crowd of partying artists and designers but it will certainly get you thinking about which assets you value and why.
Photos by Christopher Jones
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Thanks for the heads up about this installation. I would have missed it otherwise and I’m only steps away.