Calum Hurley is putting the fun into his design practice. He crafts furniture and objects with a bold, playful and vibrant character, and he organizes and curates exhibitions for the Adelaide design community, wanting to create exciting and ambitious new opportunities for himself and his fellow artists and designers.
Born in Adelaide, Hurley grew up on the west coast of Scotland in a home filled with creativity. His mother Carol Herbertson was a patternmaker and is now a weaver, and his grandfather was an engineer who enjoyed tinkering in the shed. Returning to Adelaide during high school, Hurley went on to study interior architecture at the University of South Australia, but found industrial design, and specifically the scale and tactility of furniture design, piqued his interest more. So, he enrolled at TAFE to study furniture design, before joining the Associate Program at Jam Factory, where he is now a studio tenant.
Hurley working in his studio at Jam Factory, Adelaide. Photography: Dean Toepfer.
Image: Dean Toepfer
Hurley designs and produces furniture and objects for the home as well as exhibitions. Having grown up in flats or apartments, he designs “space sensitive” pieces that combine multiple functions. His Chair 001, for example, is an upholstered stool that extends into a small semi-circular side table, and his wall-mounted Hold Mirror has a shelf to store things on. Hurley says this piece represents his approach to design. “The standard colours and sizes are what I suggest, but it is so customizable anyone can make it their own to fit an interior. I have created the standard, but they can be creative and adapt it for their direction,” Hurley explains.
He imbues the functionality of his pieces with a sense of fun through the bold primary colours, essential geometries and terrazzo surfaces that add visual tactility and playful character. “I always start with pure geometry – circles, arches, squares. We play with these shapes from our early years, so they are comfortable and recognizable,” Hurley explains. There is a similar familiarity with the primary red and blue.
The Hold mirror. Photography: Dean Toepfer.
Image: Dean Toepfer
Seeds of influence and inspiration in Hurley’s work can be seen from two differing schools of thought in twentieth-century design. The true geometries and colours recall the Bauhaus, while using materials for visual effect evokes the spirit of Memphis, which sought to break with the conventions of modernism. “I take things seriously, but I don’t take anything too seriously,” Hurley says.
He collaborated with his mother for Chair 001. Herbertson wove a terrazzo-style textile to match the terrazzo surface that Hurley created with Jesmonite. He likes working with the chameleon-like material to explore different effects, such as terrazzo, as well as stucco, which he used for his dining chair. Having developed and finessed the form of the chair, it is now a piece that he trials with different materials and finishes.
Hurley has created many of his pieces specifically for exhibitions over recent years, with the individual shows being an opportunity to learn and grow. “I have constantly developed new understandings from each of these exhibitions, using them to learn a new technique or material application,” he says.
The Chair 001 (2020) with upholstery by Hurley’s mother, Carol Herbertson.
Image: Daniel Marks
He has also added another string to his bow, organizing and curating exhibitions himself to instigate more creative opportunities and to celebrate and forge a stronger Adelaide design community. In 2020, he organized Surface for his fellow associates at Jam Factory, which he followed up with Surface Two at the South Australian Living Artists Festival in 2021. Both exhibitions featured physically and visually tactile works by emerging South Australian makers.
With his desire for collaboration and inclusivity, Hurley has more exhibitions in the pipeline, including a show with Herbertson in January 2022, exploring an oceanic theme as they reflect on being oceans apart from Scotland over the past two years. He is also curating HARD for Melbourne Design Week 2022, which brings together nine queer South Australian makers, including himself. They will be exhibiting new work incorporating found elements from hard rubbish with a “resourceful” and “inclusive” sentiment.
“These exhibitions create an opportunity for us all, and it gives me such enjoyment to bring artists, designers and makers together,” he says.
Source
People
Published online: 30 Nov 2022
Words:
Rebecca Gross
Images:
Courtesy of the artist,
Daniel Marks,
Dean Toepfer,
Jonathon Griggs,
Josh Geelan
Issue
Artichoke, March 2022
