Women + Design with Katie Stout
Brooklyn-based furniture designer/artist Katie Stout – named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list – came to the DMA this weekend for a DMA Junior Associates exclusive event – Curators and Cocktails.
Her work was included in the Women + Design: News Works exhibition which was composed of recent works by seven contemporary female designers. The exhibit closed Feb. 17.
Stout is a former director of the trendy Johnson’s Trading Gallery in New York, which displays work by designers who, like Stout, push the boundaries of traditional furniture design.
Stout’s piece, Shelfish Shelf, reflects her creative, playful, and colorful demeanor. The shelf consists of paper pulp and metal, but some “personal” touches were added to the mix, like old diary entries and personal drawings dipped in paint. “I look at it now, and I’m like, ‘Wow. I’m really on display here,'” she exclaimed.
Stout’s whimsical art style is inspired by many things in life, including her mother, who was a textile artist. Stout lost her mom during her freshman year of college and was in charge of selling their house. She mentioned this being a spark towards her earlier designs – like a side table completed during her sophomore year at RISD that resembled cow udders and spurted milk.
As for future works, Katie is currently wrapping a project with the neighboring Forth Five Ten, which would include some apparel pieces. She also wishes to have a sculpture garden of her own one day.
“It can be anything,” Stout answered when asked what defines art. “It’s whatever you decide.”
DMA Junior Associates is a program that gathers young DMA Members, ages 21 to 40, for unique educational, social, and networking events.
