Students enrolled in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s (SAIC) two-semester GFRY Studio design course will present the culmination of their work, “18%Gray—Experiments in Editing Light,” in an exhibition at the 2008 Salone del Mobile design and furniture fair in Milan, Italy. The exhibit, “Let There Be Light,” on display from April 16–21, 2008 at the Fabbrica del Vapore, will be hosted by Italian furnishings design firm Industreal, in partnership with the SAIC students.
The GFRY Studio is part of SAIC’s Designed Objects school, and focuses on design and fabrication; exploring new technologies, social forms, and materials; producing innovative objects, media, environments, and experiences; and producing work for public art displays, expositions of technology and design, competitions, and topical research publications. To create 18%Gray, GFRY Studio students worked with 6,000 linear feet of metal ball chain, 3,000 square feet of gray paper, yards of fiber optic cable, hundreds of LEDs, polarizing filters, a dozen aluminum wall studs, and hand-blown glass. Four student-lighting designs—Impromptu, Flex, Fizz, and Line—will be on display.