Stephen Burks (designer) explained

Stephen Burks
Birth Date:1969
Birth Place:Chicago
Education:Illinois Institute of Technology
Columbia University
Awards:National Design Award
Known For:Hand-crafted furniture and design objects

Stephen Burks (born 1969) is an American designer and a professor of architecture at Columbia University.[1] Burks is known for his collaborations with artisans as well as incorporating craft and weaving into product design.[2] He is the first African American to win the National Design Award for product design.

Early life and education

Burks was born in Chicago in 1969.[3] He studied architecture and product design at the Illinois Institute of Technology and Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture.

Career

Burks first founded his personal studio in New York in 1997, then called Readymade.[4] His trademark style, which includes incorporating craftsmanship and collaborating with artisans began in 2000, when Italian design brand Cappellini first put his designs into production. in 2003, Missoni commissioned him for Luxe fashion house. Patchwork vases, designed by him, were the first handmade objects produced in his studio. He has worked with companies and brands such as Bolon, Calligaris, Dedon, Italian lighting manufacturer Luceplan, and the marble company Salvatori.[5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

In 2005, Burks went to South Africa to collaborate with international artisans from countries such as South Africa, Senegal, and Philippines sponsored by Aid to Artisans. There he started working with hand-crafted furniture, baskets and fashion accessories which he became known for later in his career.[10]

Burks started his own design business at 2007 after meeting with Willard Musarurwa; a street vendor making wire souvenirs for tourists. After meeting each other in a local design institute at Cape Town, they launched TaTu wire outdoor furniture together which focused on Hand-crafted-style designed furniture and Artisan objects.

Burks held his eponymous solo exhibition in 2011, called "Stephen Burks: Man Made" at the Studio Museum in Harlem, where he exhibited his practice of merging craftsmanship and contemporary design.[11] The exhibition included his work produced with artisans from countries such as South Africa, Senegal, and Peru.[12]

In 2015, Burks won the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for product design, the first .[13] In 2019, Stephen became the first product designer to attain a Harvard Loeb Fellowship.[14] Since, he has served as an expert in residence at the Harvard Innovation Lab. He also taught at Harvard Graduate School of Design.

His work is in the collections of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, the High Museum of Art, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Vitra Design Museum, as well as Corning Museum of Glass.[15] [16] [17] His work is the subject of a touring exhibition titled, "Stephen Burks: Shelter in Place" which debuted at the High Museum of Art in 2022.[18] [19]

In 2023 an exhibition at the Milan design fair (in which Burks was not a participant) attracted criticism after Burks and Jenny Nguyen pointed out that the pieces displayed lacked curatorial explanation of historical context, and were overtly racist stereotypical portrayals of people of non-European descent, stating: "It's really a question of how homogenous cultures like Italy marginalize people of non-European descent."[20] [21] The resulting controversy led to a public apology from the organisers of the event.[22] [23] [24]

Style

Burks is known for directly working with handcraft artisans such as basket weavers, and incorporating craft into his work. Burks describes his mission as "bringing the hand to industry".

Exhibitions

Awards and honors

Publications

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Stephen Burks. 2021-10-13. Columbia GSAPP. en.
  2. Web site: Craft in America Craft in America – Stephen Burks. 2021-10-13. www.craftinamerica.org.
  3. Web site: Man of the World. 2021-10-13. American Craft Council. en.
  4. Web site: 2020-05-26. "I've been the first and only African American to work with all my clients," says Stephen Burks. 2021-10-13. Dezeen. en.
  5. Web site: Bolon Bolon x Stephen Burks x BD Barcelona . 2024-06-06 . www.bolon.com.
  6. Web site: 2013-05-17 . Variations chair and rope installation by Stephen Burks for Calligaris . 2024-06-06 . Dezeen . en.
  7. Web site: DEDON Furniture KIDA . 2024-06-06 . www.dedon.de.
  8. Web site: Stephen Burks . 2024-06-06 . Luceplan . en.
  9. Web site: Stephen Burks . 2024-06-06 . Salvatori Official . it.
  10. Web site: Slenske . Michael . 2016-03-07 . Dark arts: Stephen Burks brings a design slant to NYC's Armory Show . 2023-05-16 . wallpaper.com . en.
  11. Web site: Stephen Burks . The Studio Museum in Harlem . 24 May 2022 . en . 11 September 2017.
  12. Web site: 2011-04-25 . Studio Reprint: : Processing Stephen Burks . 2023-05-14 . The Studio Museum in Harlem . en.
  13. News: How Stephen Burks Became America's Hottest Furniture Designer. Bloomberg.com. 2021-10-13.
  14. Web site: 2018-05-15. Loeb Fellowship announces 2018–2019 cohort. 2021-10-13. Harvard Graduate School of Design. en-US.
  15. Web site: Collection Search Corning Museum of Glass . 2022-05-27 . www.cmog.org.
  16. Web site: Stephen Burks, Traveler Armchair with Hood . 2023-07-13 . philamuseum.org . en.
  17. Web site: KIDA (Prototype), 2021, Stephen Burks . 2024-06-02 . Vitra Design Museum Collection.
  18. Web site: Stephen Burks: Shelter in Place . 2022-08-22 . High Museum of Art . en-US.
  19. Web site: Trypta designed by Stephen Burks, takes the stage at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta . 2024-06-06 . Luceplan . 23 September 2022. en.
  20. Web site: 2023-05-01 . A Racist Exhibition Mars Milan Design Week . 2023-05-06 . ELLE Decor . en-US.
  21. Web site: 2023-04-25 . Milan design week marred by "racist figurines" say designers . 2023-05-06 . Dezeen . en.
  22. Web site: 2023-04-25 . "I embrace the opportunity to learn from my mistake" says Massimo Adario . 2023-05-06 . Dezeen . en.
  23. Web site: Walton . Chris . 2023-04-26 . Architect Massimo Adario responds to Campo Base . 2023-05-06 . The Architect’s Newspaper . en-US.
  24. Web site: 2023-04-25 . Figurines at a Milan Design Week exhibit spark cries of racism . 2023-05-06 . Business of Home.
  25. Web site: Williams . Tianna . 17 September 2023 . Stephen Burks explores spirituality and belonging in Chicago exhibition . 1 February 2024 . Wallpaper* Magazine . en.
  26. Web site: Barandy . Kat . 13 January 2024 . the new transcendence: friedman benda highlights artists from andrea branzi to samuel ross . 1 February 2024 . designboom architecture & design magazine . en.
  27. Web site: Friedman Benda NY considers design as motifs of 'The New Transcendence' . 2024-03-04 . www.stirpad.com . en.
  28. Web site: When the Artisanal & Industrial Collide . Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum . 24 May 2022 . 25 November 2017.
  29. Web site: Stephen Burks . Stamps School of Art & Design . 24 May 2022 . en.
  30. Web site: Stephen Burks . The LOEB Fellowship . 24 May 2022.
  31. Web site: Stephen Burks . 2023-05-10 . Yale University Press . en-US.

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