Smaller independent shows are the soul of NYCxDesign and Radiator certainly is becoming one not to miss. The show’s founder, Andrew Algier invited me to photograph the 2022 edition before anyone else got to see it. The show is housed in the main exhibition space of Art Cake, a relatively new (and pretty cool) event and artist space near Industry City in Brooklyn.

Radiator exhibits furniture, lighting and accessories that stay within the boundaries of practical design but come right up to the edge of being collectible. These are all objects you could live with and use but they aren’t mass produced or made in any large volume.

The eleven designers selected from an open call are exhibited in vignettes which give a more in depth sense of each designer’s aesthetic. As with the Current Show I also visited for NYCxDesign, similar stylistic categories exist here.

Malcolm Majer’s bench and chair, Alejandro Moyano lounge chair and table and Jordan Maurice’s cubic lights all bear a high level of precision and a keen focus on the details. They do become more anonymous as a result and it’s interesting to see where that line is compared with other work in the show.

Hayden Richér’s plaster bench and tables, the road asphalt candle holders by Maxwell Mclnnis and even the chair and mirrors by Anna Rindos exist in a freeform world of shapes and textures. There’s far more impression of the designers touch in the realized piece.

I like the format and curation of Radiator 2022. The show’s mission which “strives to provide a platform where underrepresented small studios can show new designs at no cost, at a time when the main avenues for exhibition present a significant financial barrier to most” is needed and also supports and helps the design community grow.

Photos and Text: Dave Pinter