LONDON.- 20 Hoxton Square Projects & Johnson Trading Gallery present China Granite Project, the latest furniture series by British designer Max Lamb. Designed by Lamb and created in collaboration with stone-yard workers during his artist residency in China, the exhibition features a series of fifteen pieces of furniture utilising the natural beauty of Chinese granite. These designs include granite tables, stools and chairs which reflect Lamb’s appreciation for the beauty and forces of nature as well as his ability to work with their inherent qualities.

To find suitable pieces of granite for his furniture series, Lamb had to delve deep into the piles of discarded granite boulders at a Chinese quarry in Chengnanzhhuang, 350km south of Beijing. Each granite boulder was selected for its inherent characteristics as generated through millions of years of geothermal activity and revealed during the quarrying process, with only the minimum amount of cutting performed on each boulder to achieve the desired appearance and function.

Responding to the natural form of each individual stone, the boulders were cut and polished to reveal a collection of elemental furniture which includes; a concave-cut boulder chair in Chinese green granite, three straight-cut boulder chairs in both Chinese green granite and black granite, a natural split quarter table, a twin boulder table and a selection of boulder stools and tables. China Granite Project celebrates the intrinsic beauty of the Chinese granite and reflects the harmonious collaboration between Lamb and the stoneworkers at An Li Stone.

Max Lamb
With a degree in Three-Dimensional Design, and a Masters Degree in Design Products from Royal College of Art, Lamb earned early recognition for his talent receiving the 2003 Peter Walker Award for Innovation in Furniture Design, a 2004 Hettich International Design Award, and was featured as one of four Designers of the Future at Design/Miami Basel in 2008. Before launching his independent design practice in 2007, Lamb worked with Tom Dixon designing furniture for his Special Project series. His career began as a design consultant for Ou Baholyodhin Studio, London, designing furniture, graphics, interior products, restaurants, shops, exhibitions, and residential interiors. His pieces have been exhibited internationally, including Tokyo, Stockholm, Milan and London, as well as in Miami and Basel.

In April 2009 Max Lamb participated in a two-week artist residency in the Hebei Province of China. Organised by the Chinese International Gallery Exposition (CIGE) in conjunction with Alexander von Vegesack of the Vitra Design Museum, the residency program was created to nurture an artistic response to Chinese culture and industry.