‘Tableau Vivant’

“I wanted to show the breadth of what I’m interested in, from one-off hand carved pieces through to more industrial design-based work and how far the practice has come,” he explains. “But just as important was the environment itself. I knew the art fair would be full of gallery-style spaces, so I saw it as an opportunity to create something that felt domestic, warm and familiar – somewhere people could actually feel at home.”

Each piece on display asserted its own identity and idiosyncrasies – some immediately evident, others less so. Taken as a whole, however, the collection conveyed a singular sensibility: unified yet multifarious. One of the largest designs on display, the walnut and bronze Bean Desk, for example, appears to gently hug the body of the person seated at it.  Similarly, one of the smallest objects, Dough – a sculpture crafted from highly polished bronze – also evokes this tactile curve, though here it takes the form of a different bodily impression: a thumbprint pressed into a piece of biscuit dough.

The simplicity and ergonomics of these pieces were balanced by more decorative designs such as the Date Palm Chair. Made to accompany the Bean Desk, the chair’s upright stature contrasts with the desk’s organic curves, while the carved motifs reference the date palm as an ancient symbol of Jewish resistance, drawing on Frankel’s family history as well as synagogue architecture. Further demonstration revealed a surprising feature: the chair is held together by a single ornate pin that, when removed, allows it to break down into its component parts. This unexpectedly delightful act of disassembly is at once whimsical and practical. It suggests either a flippant ‘why not?’ approach to design or, conversely, a pragmatic readiness for transport at a moment’s notice, should the need arise.

The Walk Table, carved from a single piece of cypress pine salvaged from Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens, and the Floor Lamp Big, which combines brushed aluminium with timber and natural fibre, were two other contrasting yet complementary designs on display. The table’s primitivism offered a pleasing counterpoint to the lamp’s refinement, though both had an equally sculptural presence. Meanwhile, the Old New Cabinet echoed the decorativism of the Date Palm Chair: hand-carved from Tasmanian blackwood, it references both the 16th-century linenfold motif and classical Chinese furniture.