Robin Day

2016

Assemble designed an exhibition at the V&A to celebrate the centenary of Robin Day's birth.

©Paola Pieroni

©Paola Pieroni

Best known for his ingenuity with industrial processes Robin Day’s designs form the everyday furniture of our lives. Day grew up in High Wycombe, situated amongst woodlands and a furniture industry where materials, processes and products were inextricably linked with the rhythm of everyday life.

©Paola Pieroni

©Paola Pieroni

©Paola Pieroni

For Day the forest was the fundamental site of creative exploration: climbing trees, lighting bonfires, whittling bows and arrows and watching the bodgers turning the greenwood into chair legs for the local industry. In this environment the trees became malleable – a material through which he could both explore the world around him.

©Paola Pieroni

©Paola Pieroni

©Paola Pieroni

From the greenwood bow of Day’s childhood to his explorations in moulded plywood this installation explored the direct link between play and material innovation.

‘Forest’ was shown at V&A, curated by Jane Withers and realized with the support of the Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation.

©Paola Pieroni