Gallery FUMI unveil a new collection of sustainable designs by Max Lamb

Gallery FUMI unveils a new collection of sustainable design works made using cardboard by Max Lamb. This collection follows the success of the British designer's solo show 'BOX' in London, in 2023. Central to the gallery's debut showcase in Los Angeles is BOX 2, this captivating new series by the British artist and designer will be on display from February 19th. For his West Coast debut, Lamb has created four tables with one side table and one coffee table, a console, thirteen chairs and a vessel. It is an extension to his recent presentation BOX, shown at Gallery FUMI in London during Frieze Week in October 2023. By connecting art and anthropology to materiality and improvisation, Lamb creates pieces that embody new histories of craft and give value to cardboard, a material often seen as secondary. Lamb sought to make use of the ever-increasing piles of cardboard accumulating in his studio.

Surplus materials included unbleached cardboard tubes used for storage and transportation, surplus quality corrugated cardboard from museum loans and various workshop projects, as well as every day delivery boxes with varied different shapes, colours and textures. Working with or against pre-cut shapes by cutting, scoring, folding, crushing and reassembling with bolts, screws, paper gum tape and a home-made wheat-based glue (flour and water), Lamb assembles volumes of cardboard into forms, building up layers to create structural integrity like that of rock or wood yet retaining evidence of the making. Although achieving durability whilst preserving the personality of the material proved a challenge, Lamb has successfully elevated the works from an exercise in form-building to functional, beautiful design pieces.

As Max Lamb explains, “With this new collection, ‘BOX 2’, I am continuing to expand upon the works I have been creating and drawing lessons from my previous experience. This ongoing process involves working with consistently varied cardboard as raw material, which naturally leads to greater diversity in my output and marks an evolution in my work. My creative response is influenced by the constraints and possibilities presented by these 'boxes’, and I respond to the inherent qualities of each box I work with. As a result, I ensure that each box is employed thoughtfully and appropriately. Starting this new cycle of exploration, I have the advantage of my accumulated experience, and I will also draw inspiration from some of my past creations.”