VERSO presents "Bridge"

VERSO, the year-old interiors and design gallery launched last summer by Amauri Aguiar and Bryan Young, once again embarks on an aesthetic residency at Six Square House in historic Bridgehampton.

Designed by Young and his Brooklyn-based practice Young Projects, the 3,500 square foot home has been transformed into an airy, indoor-outdoor gallery to display “Bridge,” Verso’s show for Summer 2023.

“Bridge” includes work by 25 designers from nearly a dozen nations across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. Although distinct in both form and function, every piece within “Bridge” shares a common philosophical goal: to serve as catalyst for innovation by celebrating the often unseen links between aesthetics and unique techniques and traditions of making.

The pieces within “Bridge” span multiple generations and locations — while pushing the boundaries of craft and creativity to unexpected and inspiring new places. More than merely individual works of design, “Bridge” emphasizes a common connectedness between source materials, the creative process and the power of aesthetic sensibilities. In some pieces, this is revealed via a dramatic interplay between materials and geometry. In others, traditional design methods, historical motifs and sustainable materials are given new life in contemporary forms. The works within “Bridge” are challenging and provocative – at once familiar and functional yet whimsical, unusual and often surprising.

Among the many highlights within “Bridge,” the Ibuju collection by Francisco Jaramillo is particularly resonant. Drawing off of his Colombian heritage, Jaramillo has devised a series of benches, stools and tables woven from renewable Yaré fiber sourced from southern Colombia. A similar sensibility courses through the Solida collection by Brazilian designer Estudio Rain. Low-slung and entirely digitally produced, Solida’s radically simple tables, stools and benches feature elemental forms subtly stacked and crafted from volumes of soft woods.

Although earthy and contemporary, the Jaramillo and Estudio Rain pieces find their rightful place amid “Bridge’s” suite of iconic designs by Pierre Chapo. Exquisitely crafted, Chapo’s wooden tables, stools and chairs were originally produced in the 1970s and are still fabricated in the same South of France workshop established by Chapo and his family a half-century ago. “Bridge” is also anchored by another family endeavor – a series of multi-generational pieces from the family behind Milanese masters Arflex, whose inimitable seating and screening designs have never felt more current.

This season, VERSO is proud to collaborate with designer Little Wing Lee, principal and founder of Brooklyn-based Studio & Projects. In 2017, Lee established Black Folks in Design, a collective that fosters opportunities for Black designers across design disciplines. On display at Six Square House is a selection of pieces curated by Little Wing from African, Caribbean and African-American designers including Nifemi Marcus-Bello, Garth Roberts, Peter Mabeo, and Asmite.

Little Wing’s “Bridge” curation is a preview of a larger, forthcoming standalone BFiD exhibition at VERSO's Manhattan location in Tribeca.

In tandem with Little Wing’s selections, Studio & Projects presents the launch of the OKRA, ECHOIC I, and ECHOIC II, a collection of rugs in collaboration with the textile company Odabashian – a fourthgeneration rug-maker founded in Mexico City in 1921 with a strong eye toward sustainable and ethical design and manufacturing.

“Bridge” and The Six Square House are open daily by appointment throughout the summer, accented by a series of small, invitation-only gatherings over the coming months. The Six Square House is accessible by foot from both the Bridgehampton LIRR Train Station and Main Street.