Biography:

Miles Laidlaw is a designer focusing on product and furniture design, with roots in architecture and an influence in fashion and music. His interest in design began as a child, working with his parents in the Chicago-based family business Laidlaw Fabrication and Restoration. Here he learned the history behind the notable antiques brought in by clients, and the techniques used to restore them to their original glory. After graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Miles has continued on to transform this family business into the brand Laidlaw Fabrications as a platform to express his designs in furniture and decor.

Statement:

As a child raised in a studio housing wondrous art works, antiques, and mystifying objects, it was natural from the beginning that my world would be centered around design. From the farthest reach of my memories my mind had been entranced, lost in the historic weight of each broken artifact waiting to be restored by the hands of my parents. The constant reminder of the significance each object held within its past caused me to maintain perspective of the deep connections each person holds with this world. It was almost supernatural, holding these objects, gazing into the past and feeling the importance each piece had on so many individual lives. There may be none more powerful than the artist, who holds the ability to create and convey an entire experience within a physical object, and fill it with rich history.

Due to my background losing myself in works of art with history ranging from the ancient Hellenistic period to renowned contemporary furniture, my own works have not settled on a particular genre. Instead, the inspiration of thousands of years of human-made creation pushes me to experiment with a variety of methods to translate my intentions into physical forms. My most recent selection of work displays this range of interest. Among them is a woodworked side table in walnut and maple, designed through the inspiration of the mid-century modern greats such as Charles and Ray Eames, Alvar Aalto, and Frank Lloyd Wright, a ceramic incense burner which reflects a minimal form of ancient Oriental burners of my heritage in Korea and Japan, and a cast bronze mirror sculpted from wax and sprued for a ceramic shell mold, styled after the surreal intentions and aesthetics of the sculptor Alberto Giacometti.

Although each of these pieces may seem distant from one another, they all hold an intricate relationship through history and philosophy. Frank Lloyd Wright held a large influence in the establishment of the mid-century modern movement, and much of his most popular work is derived from his appreciation of Oriental culture, especially that of Japan. Surrealism, expressionism, and cubism became prominent in European culture during this period and formed the base for new movements in mid-century modern design. These objects of mine come together as an extended family, communicating and reflecting upon one another their shared heritage. This philosophy is central to my work, allowing me to weave together movements and mediums into an immense atmosphere of shared history and culture, making physical the interconnectivity of our world through space and time.