PHILADELPHIA, PA.- A new exhibition, Design Currents, on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art showcases the work of three international designers under the age of 40 who are charting new territories in product, furniture, and environment design. It brings together the work of Oki Sato, Faye Toogood, and Zanini de Zanine to examine the new approaches they have taken to the use of traditional craft techniques, materials, and the important question of sustainability. Each is represented by a diverse selection of works that span their still brief, but productive careers, including furniture, lighting, products, and textiles. On November 18, Sato, Toogood, and de Zanine received the first Design Excellence: New Generation Award presented by Collab, the Museum’s affiliate group for modern and contemporary design.

Co-curator Colin Fanning, Curatorial Fellow, European Decorative Arts and Sculpture, notes, “This new generation of designers is devoted to innovation and united by their interests in geometry, experimentation in materials, and process, differentiating what they have created from mass-produced design.”

The work of Tokyo-based designer Oki Sato ranges from playful spins on Minimalism to riffs on popular culture. His Manga Chair series (2016), made of polished steel, makes use of movements and emotions drawn from Japanese comics. Rejecting conventional chair-making techniques, he created his Cabbage Chair (2008) from reclaimed waste paper produced in the fabric pleating process, while in his “Fadeout” Chair (2009–10), he introduced an optical illusion: the chair appears to hover above the ground.

Faye Toogood brings an experimental approach to the design of furniture, clothing, and spaces. Working with a studio that represents an interdisciplinary cross-section of the design field, she takes inspiration from the history of the trades in England and the important role of manual labor in the country’s development. On view are pieces from each of her four “Assemblages” including the “Cage for Birds” (2011), “Element” Table (2010), “Spade” Chair (2011), and “Roly Poly” Chair (2014).

Zanini de Zanine’s work pays homage to midcentury Brazilian modernism while addressing contemporary needs, forms, and materials. His concern for the potential of reclaimed materials can be seen in the “Espasso” Armchair and Ottoman (2013), while the “Flora” Pendant Lamps (2014) reveal his use of innovative fabrication techniques.

Photographs accompany finished objects on display in the exhibition, exploring the “culture” of each of the studios and attesting to the craftsmanship, material knowledge, and design thinking that these young designers mobilize in their practices.