Interior Design Show, Toronto
Offsite Onsite, a special feature group exhibition
2012
FELT Retreat was produced for this special project curated by the Interior Design Show that invited four artists/designers to create new work for a feature display.
Playing with the idea of Offsite Onsite, Kathryn Walter designed and made Retreat to offer a tongue in cheek look at the comforts of home through a send up of the material properties of wool felt. This convertible armchair turns into a home away from home! The parts bolt together to create variations in form from armchair to backpack to personal shelter. Felt protects against weather, insulates heat and cold, filters chemicals and resists fire. It cushions, it shields, it shelters!
Retreat sends a nod to the Toronto Occupy movement which was disbanded from St. James Park in Toronto a month previous to its first installation.
Influences include visual art, design and material culture in the work of designer Gaetano Pesce, visual artist Joseph Beuys and Shepherd's coat from Afghanistan
