Street Series is Rooms Studio’s ongoing collection. In this collection historic references applied to their previous work (Bus Stop and Historic Benches), evolve into exploration of un-authored utilitarian vernacular furniture found in the streets of their hometown -Tbilisi.
These precarious arrangements of an objects, assembled out of sheer necessity with materials at hand, form the focal point of their observation and a visual starting point for studio’s evolving body of work. Recent additions to this series, like the ‘Tube DIY Bench’ and ‘Layered Low Structure’ were specially created for the current exhibition at the M HKA museum in Antwerp.
While the choice to cast these objects in Aluminum, speaks to the past and references Soviet mass production architectural elements and building décor, such as the fences and embellishments prevalent in the more rural areas of Georgia.
Rooms Studio
In the two objects, titled after the city areas, they were observed in Silver Street Bench and Dry Bridge Daybed – Toloraia and Janberidze use salvaged Oak and Aluminum. Guided by the improvisation process and by working closely with the local artisans, the duo blends the borders between pre- designed and spontaneous.
Metal-covered Polygon Desk (Oak and Aluminum) uses a similar technique. With the usage of just one geometric form The Polygon Desk was assembled using five identical shaped pieces with its preliminary model born out of experimentation with the canvas wedges and silver duct tape.
Nata Janberidze and Keti Toloraia.
Photo: Ana Kras
Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, Nata Janberidze and Keti Toloraia’s collaboration starts at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts, where they studied Interior Design together, between 1997 – 2003. In 2007, soon after graduating, Janberidze and Toloraia established the first female-run studio in Tbilisi, Georgia working primarily on collectible furniture and designing various architectural spaces.
Photos in article
Kristien Daem