Tanya Aguiñiga
December 5, 2009 - January 31, 2010

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video interview

Fifth Floor is pleased to present, Natural Selections, a group of new and past work by Los Angeles based designer/maker, Tanya Aguiñiga. These are furniture and objects, inspired by nature, which all share bio-morphic forms or natural materials. And, in accord with the winter holiday season Tanya will debut her new porcelain headed birds, a flock of which will hover cheerily, suspended about the gallery. Other work will consist of her fancifully created furniture pieces such as the P Tree perch and the Forest Roll, which starts as a log and unfurls to create a soft bit of nature to lay down on indoors among others. Her furniture is tactile and appealing but also has strong conceptual notions as it often causes viewers to question their assumptions about furniture and its function.

Raised in Tijuana, Mexico, Aguiñiga’s work is informed by border experiences: the interconnectedness of societies, the beauty in struggle, and the celebration of culture. Her work encourages users to reconsider the objects they use on a daily basis by exploring their underappreciated aspects which she calls attention to. Materials, techniques, and ideas cross borders and boundaries as from her upbringing in Mexico to her time spent in Alaska as part of the United States Artists Fellowship Program.

Aguiñiga’s formal education includes a BA in Furniture Design from San Diego State University and a MFA in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design. She was awarded the afore mentioned United States Artists Fellowship and was named a USA Target Fellow in the field of Crafts and Traditional Arts. Her work has been exhibited from Mexico City to Milan and included in major international publications such as Wallpaper magazine and “Pure Design, Objects of Desire” published by Monsa Editions in Spain.