Incollect Magazine Issue 7

Incollect Magazine 97 imothy Schreiber is an artist, designer, architect, and a fascinating and enthusiastic raconteur. Speaking with him from his London studio, he is eager to recount the many revelatory experiences he had while traveling the world, coming upon a material or a local cultural craft process that influenced how he creates his organic, seemingly liquid sculptural furniture. Fluidity is the story of his life and his art. Raised in southern Germany, Schreiber aspired, at the age of 18, to be a master carpenter and so apprenticed in the shop of a local cabinetmaker. After completing his apprenticeship, he followed the centuries-old tradition of German master craftsmen, that of going on a journey (“Wanderschaft”) to see the world and expand his knowledge and skills. “During this time I worked and gained more practical experience in various workshops in Europe and America, including, memorably, at Fetzer’s Architectural Woodworking in Salt Lake City, Utah where I developed an interest in contemporary design,” he says. He drifted back to Weimar, Germany, birthplace of the Bauhaus, to study architecture and decided to become an architect. His first job after graduation was in Sydney, Australia as an architect, and a few years later he wound up in London working for pioneering architect Norman Foster. Schreiber was always designing furniture. “I had this idea I would design something and give it to an Italian brand to manufacture and get royalties but it never worked out that way.” His first designs were too complex, the big brand gurus said, and too expensive to manufacture commercially and make a profit. So he changed course and designed minimalist, zen-inspired items and took them back to Milan. Too simple, “Those are for Ikea,” said the gurus, try again. As a young architect, Schreiber worked for Foster + Partners for 4 years before taking a job in the offices of Zaha Hadid, the Iraqi-born architect and Pritzker prize winner who used abstraction in art, computer modeling, and advances in building materials to imagine fresh building designs, prompted in part by her lack of training in traditional architectural drawing. The result was buildings of striking originality and fluidity along with furniture that was as beautiful and inventive as her buildings. Working as an architect in Zaha Hadid’s London offices enabled Schreiber to witness how the star architect and designer crafted limited edition furniture which was sold as collectible design through art galleries worldwide. He started creating his own designs influenced by her organic shapes and then began to work with the art dealer Lewis Wexler in the United States who was, he says, “the first person who believed in my talent and design.” Soon after he began a collaboration with London-based 88 Gallery, which Previous page: The organic meets the futuristic in Timothy Schreiber’s cast bronze Molecule Bench, which combines a mirror-polished seat with gradient-patinaed legs. This made-to-order design can be customized with different finishes and number of seats. Available from 88 Gallery through Incollect.com Below: The handmade Diakosmisi Occasional Tables feature a tripod structure with Gustav Klimt-inspired textural design and a smooth polished top. Available from Van den Akker through Incollect.com