INTERIOR gives the viewer a considerable insight into Leinberger’s conceptual exploration of the interior and the role of objects in space. Inspired in part by his great interest in early modernist interior design and the continuum of designed objects, the pieces in the exhibition were first imagined as interventions in historical interiors, considering how they would activate in these environments and in turn, the space transformed by their introduction. These objects are conceived to participate in everyday functions of support and furbishing, yet they also possess autonomy outside of their utility. 

Leinberger’s continued interest in the monolith is evident throughout the exhibition. Their single forms lack signifiers of “furniture” other than their distinctly domestic scale and implied function. Their existence is not substantiated by the functionality, like a readymade who changes in context, these objects lend themselves to all kinds of speculative use. Through this work, Leinberger continues to exemplify design that resists the strict functionalism that’s associated with object design, instead, his work quietly invites us to imagine how an object is capable inexhaustible ways of being. 

THOMAS LEINBERGER

Thomas Leinberger is a designer based in Chicago, IL. He designs furniture, objects and installations out of his studio in Garfield Park. In 2014 he was included in the CHGO DSGN (Recent Object and Graphic Design) exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center. Recent and ongoing clients include: The Art Institute of Chicago, Corbett vs Dempsey, The Renaissance Society, The Museum of Contemporary Art , Chicago, Rebuild Foundation and The Graham Foundation.