Seeing and Knowing New Perspectives in Furniture Exhibition Catalogue

Daniel Little
ARTIST STATEMENT
In my practice I strive to explore and celebrate
the interplay of design, craftsmanship and
materiality. I endeavor to create pieces that
inspire a deeper appreciation of the beauty in our
everyday objects. My goal is to create objects that
can be lived with, repaired, and discovered anew.
My current body of work explores texture,
lightness, and the endless possibilities of
exploration. These Objects are created to stand in
opposition to the more ubiquitous products of
mass manufacture. The genesis of my recent
pieces emerged through a process of iterative and
creative play. Notably, the sculptural essence of
the ARBR chair evolved from the intuitive
carving of prototypes.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Daniel J Little, a Sydney-based designer maker,
began his journey into furniture and ceramic
design at Sturt Mittagong, where he served as a
Studio Assistant at Sturt ceramics department.
He went on to study Furniture design at Sturt
School for Wood where he graduated in 2021. On
graduation he took up a teaching position at
Heartwood creative and is currently a furniture
resident at Sturt Galleries. Daniel has sold works
at galleries in multiple states in Australia and
was the category winner of the Australian Wood
review maker of the year in cabinets in 2022. His
practice explores the endless potential for new
forms and ideas that challenge the ubiquity of
mass manufactured objects.
The ARBR chair is built with local Queensland
silver ash, an intentional decision made to
highlight a beautiful and underused local
material. The focal point of interest in the piece
is a point of space created by the curved interplay
of three molded components. Each of these three
pieces consists of 10 ash strips that were glued in
purpose built formas to become matching pairs.
They are shaped to appear almost like they are
growing together, Thus the name ‘ARBR’ a play
on the word ‘Arbor’ a shelter or growth of vines. I
am inspired by the interplay of light and shadow
and endeavor to explore the romance and
fragility of this in my piece. This design was an
experiment to push the material and create a
piece that imbued both a sculptural quality but
remained warm and functional.