Vivian Chiu – Fascinates us by repetition

Auteur : Esther | 09-05-2011

Vivian Chiu, a recent graduate in furniture design from Rhode Island School of Design, initially captivated my attention with her Inception Chair.  A chair that is a chair within a chair, within a chair, and so on until no more chairs will fit.  There are a total of ten chairs that can be taken apart.  I loved this simple and interesting design so much I had to see more! I went to her website and found yet another amazing piece called the pixel chair. I’m fascinated by the repetition and puzzle-like qualities and wanted to learn more about Vivian.  Luckily she granted us this interview where she explains in detail her thought process.

Inception chair

When did you know you wanted to become a designer?
I didn’t know I wanted to be a designer at first, and I still don’t consider myself a designer. I knew I wanted to do something 3Dimensional when I came out of foundation year of Rhode Island School of Design. I am still struggling between art and design and so I try to meld both and make things functional and sculptural. Although right now I’m leaning more towards the sculptural.

Psyche cabinet

What was the first object you designed?
The first object I designed when I was in the furniture department at RISD was the Flow table. We had just learnt traditional joinery and we had to make all the joinery in the table by hand. It was definitely a great first project that allowed me to develop a style in my pieces.

Flow Table

What is your process?
My process starts as doodling, a lot of it. My sketchbook is mainly full of meaningless doodles and quotes that I like. Then I somehow translate these doodles into pieces of furniture or art pieces. For projects we are advised to come up with three ideas then pick one and develop it. I usually spend 2 weeks doodling, sketching, and then drafting out the rough idea. Then I spend the rest of the time (4 weeks max) to create the project. Most of the time I wouldn’t even know how the project is going to end up looking like and optical illusions in the piece are usually happy accidents.

Do you have a favorite among all your creations, if so why is this your favorite?
My favorite creation by far is the Inception Chair. It was a thrill making it and a surprise in the end when I found all these optical illusions in the chair. I was almost in shock when I first put it together because I really didn’t know what was going to happen. This chair was also a great beginning to a style and concept that I hope to continue in my work.

Pixel Chair

What is your dream home? Or what is your ideal living space?
I haven’t really thought of living conditions since I recently graduated. I think my dream would be a large studio apartment with a white and wood aesthetic as well as some bursts of color. As to location, I wouldn’t know, but I really could live anywhere as long as I have a bed and wake up to sunlight!

Blue

What do you like to do when you have a moment for yourself?
When I have a moment to myself I do absolutely nothing. I play some guitar and watch guilty pleasure reality tv shows. But I really enjoy having something to do. When I’m not doing anything I get really bored so I really can’t wait until my residency in October at Anderson Ranch.

What are your current projects?
I currently have no projects as I have no studio. I am trying to sketch (or doodle) as much as possible so that I can get an early start on projects when I do my residency.

Vivian Chiu
www.vivianchiudesigns.com
[Email] vchiu@risd.edu
[Phone] 401.212.0953