Functional Art

A sample of the capstone work of Nathan DeFreest ’20 (Furniture Design).

“It has been my desire to create art that is functional, which is why I chose furniture as a medium,” DeFreest said. “Substance furniture was the idea that all things in the universe have meaning, value, some form of being, that is its substance. I wanted to develop work that has meaning in people’s lives, that can be used every day and that would potentially increase a user’s experience. Many times this experience is achieved by taking something regular that others or I find discomfort or problematic and solving that problem. It is a main driver for a lot of my work, though not all. The other aspect of my work is playfulness and experimentation, which is derived from my always curious mind."