Designer and Professor Stefano Santilli will present the latest manifestation of the aptly named ‘Work in Process’ at Collect, 28 February - 3 March 2019, at the Saatchi Gallery.  The work, made in collaboration with the American Hardwood Export Council, utilises a variety of American Hardwoods including American red oak, American cherry and American maple.

Collect is the only gallery-presented art fair dedicated to modern craft and design. It provides visitors an opportunity to discover and invest in exceptional work produced in the last five years by living artists, much of which is made exclusively for the fair.

Santilli’s work, made at his established studio practice in Brighton, is largely focused on the process of creation and the art of craftsmanship. This is motivated by an insatiable fascination by creation based on narratives and ideas rather than end-goals.

Work in Process is made up by a series of eight American red oak, cherry and maple vessels derived from 3D scans of found objects. Santilli’s method of creation derives from his choice to be influenced by his surroundings. Rather than drawing a design and shape, he scours his local area for lost objects and uses their shape for inspiration. One of the vessels, shaped like a bottle, was inspired by a small handle he found on his local beach. He then used a 3D scanner to convert it into a digital object where he is able to scale it up and then physically recreate it.

“The first species of American hardwood I used was red oak which was a very pleasant surprise,” says Santilli. “Having never used this type of wood before I was impressed with how it is rugged looking yet technically perfect and easy to work. The table is made from a mixture of solid red oak and veneer which wasn’t in the initial plan but I was inspired by the wood.”

American hardwood was chosen for this project for both its aesthetic qualities and versatility. The vessels are steamed, folded and manipulated into complex and interesting shapes. The interior of each continues to evolve as a result of the exterior mutations.

The vessels are supported by a 3.5m long American red oak trestle table with a box housing a scrolling LED message reader on the top. The message reader will be initially invisible, hidden behind a very thin layer of wood, until the LED screen is turned on.  The LED screen will have images “found or snatched”. The dancing images and symbols on the screen reflect Santilli’s bewilderment with the bombardment of visual information he experiences. “The table shows a ‘chaos of stuff’,” Santilli says. “When we walk along the street there is an overloading of sensory data and information constantly vying for our attention.”

Work in Process is a reflection of the ongoing experimentation of process and the continual evolution of influence and creation. Santilli allows each piece to be directly influenced by the last, rather than setting out with a clear objective. The work is never truly complete and is in a constant state of flux. Rather than being thought of as a finished object, the piece is intended to be an insight into the process of creation.

David Venables, AHEC’s European Director, says “American red oak makes up nearly 20% of the U.S. hardwood forest and its volume is increasing year on year. Although it’s highly considered in other markets across the world, it’s still vastly underused in Europe. AHEC saw this collaboration as a way of showing the versatility of the timber and it ties in to a wider initiative to encourage designers and makers to expand their palette of species in order to contribute to a sustainable use of the forests.”

Collect, Saatchi Gallery, 28 February - 3 March 2019.