Exhibit Title: "Independent Design: Contemporary Furniture From Northern California" Date: Jan. 4-29 Where: Memorial Union Art Gallery Second Floor Memorial Union University of California, Davis Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday Reception: 3-5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24 Artists: Bill Baldewicz, Hilary Bates, Eric Blasen, Jon Balderston, Henry Gutman, Ralph Johnson, Lillian Mitchell, Phil Nicoll, Vicki Simon, Pred Starkweather, Kimberlee Stryker, Charly Wittock, James Zack Thirteen leading Bay Area and Northern California artists, industrial designers, architects and craftsmakers were selected for this exhibition that will represent the diversity of approaches to limited-edition furniture found in the Bay Area. More than 20 objects will be included, ranging from traditional finely detailed pieces where the emphasis is on craft, to conceptual projects, to furniture with a touch of humor and whimsy. Bay Area architect Hilary Bates' "Vertable" is fabricated from maple, glass and cold-rolled steel and is based on an arithmetic progression in the spacing of the ribs and the deflection of the spine under a supported load. After designing the piece by computer, Bates used the computer program to drive a machine that fabricated some of the components with a water-abrasive jet. Another artist, UC Davis alumnus Jon Balderston, is known for creating functional objects that are based on illustrations and cartoons of the '50s. He will have on exhibit "Bridge Table," which contains a silhouetted wood cutout of the Oakland Bay Bridge. Seen through the glass top of the table, the silhouette gives the viewer the effect of flying above the Bay Bridge and the San Francisco Bay. Other designers represented in the exhibition have had their work recently selected for recognition, and their award-winning objects will be in the gallery exhibit. Vicki Simon's "Harlequin Chair" received a Design Excellence Award in 1992 by the American Society of Interiors, and Henry Gutman's "Head Cabinet" placed first in the Northern California Home and Garden's Design Achievement Awards for 1992. Several of the show's participants are regular contributors to a series of underground shows of contemporary furniture design in the Bay Area organized by a group called "Overtime."