September 23, 2018 – January 13, 2019

Interior Effects: Furniture in Contemporary Art pays tribute to New England’s history of furniture manufacturing
through an exploration of the unique capacity of interior furnishings to embody cultural traditions and to shape
the spaces within which we live and work. From studio furniture to artworks ranging from sculpture to video,
Interior Effects centers on furniture and its design as psychologically charged metaphors.

The exhibition combines the work of 10 New England artists who collectively explore themes including tradition,
community, gender, and the emotional impact of design. Tracie Pouliot’s oral histories and Liz Shepherd’s new
installation directly link to two furniture companies that were based in Gardner, Massachusetts—The Chair City.
Pouliot’s books record the stories of former Nichols & Stone employees, while Shepherd’s installation uses midcentury
designs produced by Heywood-Wakefield to examine these objects as iconic, regional, and gendered.

The furniture of Judy Kensley McKie, Yuri Kobayashi, and Leah K. Woods exemplify the booming studio furniture
movement in New England, which has applied extremely high technical and aesthetic standards to the creation of
one-of-a-kind furnishings. The designs of these three female furniture makers each distinctly play with traditions
and the symbolic potential of form.

In other works, furniture is used to explore institutional ethos or personal character. Celeste Roberge’s Miniature Stacks
are mini-chair monuments to artists such as Joseph Beuys and Meret Oppenheim. Katarina Burin pays homage to Fran
Hosken—one of the first women to graduate from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design—and her furniture designs.
The color saturated scenes in Sarah Malakoff’s photographs of interior spaces make the viewer aware of furniture as far
more than a benign, functional object in a domestic setting. Sandra Erbacher’s pairings of office furniture examine the
way design reflects a corporate philosophy. And Samantha

Fields’s cast porcelain chair legs animate stitched sculptures

that humorously invite feminist consideration of class, the female body, and domesticity.
Interior Effects is the second in a series of FAM exhibitions that link contemporary art practice to our region’s industrial
heritage. In 2016, FAM presented Plastic Imagination, and in 2020, will organize a show on the theme of paper.
This exhibition will be organized by Curator Lisa Crossman and Terrana Curatorial Fellow Candice Bancheri. It will be
accompanied by a Learning Lounge that will provide historical examples of furniture produced in Gardner thanks to the
Gardner Museum.

Opening Reception
Sunday, September 23, 2–4pm

Lost Manufacturing, Found Art
Saturday, November 3, 1:30–2:45 pm

A panel discussion on the effects of deindustrialization, as it relates to the region’s rich history of furniture making.
Panelists include UMass Lowell Professor Robert Forrant, artist Tracie Pouliot, and former Nichols & Stone employees,
followed by a talk by artist Liz Shepherd.

Behind the Scenes: A Closing Tour with Terrana Curatorial Fellow, Candice Bancheri
Sunday, January 13, 2pm

All events are free with museum admission.

Today Simonds International and US Blades announced the merger of the companies in a transaction that will create the leading producer and marketer of cutting tools and the leading cutting tool service company in the primary wood fiber industry. The combined entity, Simonds International Inc., will continue to operate in the United States and Canada with 17 facilities located in the major wood fiber regions of North America. All products and customers segments currently served by Simonds and US Blades will continue uninterrupted during the integration process and thereafter.
Ray Martino, President and Chief Executive Officer of Simonds said: “This merger will combine two of the leading companies in our industry with a deep history of product innovation, quality products and customer focused organizations providing value added services to our customers. The cultures of the two companies are similar and will strengthen our service to the industry. The Simonds and US Blades brands are prominent in the industry and will remain a core part of the combined company in the future.”
John Tyner, President & CEO of US Blades said: “Over the last 14 years, US Blades has become the largest service provider in the industry and with the Simonds merger we will now have the infrastructure to reach our goal of “total customer commitment”. The merging of manufacturing and service together will allow our customers to have the latest technologies.”
About Simonds International
Simonds International, founded in 1832, is a leading supplier and marketer of cutting tools and related products to the wood, pulp, paper and tree care industries. For more information, call (800) 426-6226 or visit www.simondsint.com.
About US Blades
US Blades was founded in 2004 as a cutting tool service company servicing the southeastern United States wood fiber markets. Since its founding, the company has expanded to cover the entire eastern U.S. market. For more information visit our website www.usblades.net.