Exquisite Corpse Straw Marquetry Collection by Adam+Arthur.

Industrial designer Adam Goodrum requires little introduction on our pages. Sitting at the forefront of a new generation of Australian designers, Adam is the recipient of many awards for his wide-ranging design projects, such as the NGV triennial Rigg Design Prize in 2015, the highest accolade for contemporary design in Australia.

Working with global brands such as Cappellini, Alessi and Veuve Cliquot, his work has been showcased throughout the world and is collected by museums, including National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Bagatti Valsecchi Museum Italy, the London Design Museum and Design Museum Gent.

Parisian master craftsman Arthur Seigneur has spent the past decade refining his craft in the tradition of 17th-century French decorative arts. A graduate of the prestigious École de la Bonne Graine furniture-making school, Seigneur first honed his hand as an apprentice to a harpsichord maker, then to a master restorer. But it was while working alongside marquetry artiste Lison de Caunes, grand-daughter of renowned Art Deco designer André Groult, that Seigneur developed the craft which would become his calling: marqueterie de paille – or, straw marquetry. Today, Seigneur is one of the only select numbers of artisans in the world that practice the craft.

When Arthur found himself in Australia after following love, he fortuitously landed in a studio just a street away from Adam’s inner-city Sydney studio. Their paths crossed and the duo first collaborated on a reinterpretation of Arne Jacobsen’s iconic Series-7 chair for a furniture charity project organised by Cult.

Inspired by the blurring of the boundaries of traditional craft, art and modern design, they formalised their practice as A&A producing the ‘Bloom’ cabinet, the first of their purpose-designed pieces. After debuting in Milan in 2018, ‘Bloom’ was subsequently acquired by the National Gallery of Victoria in the same year. Representation with Tolarno Galleries followed, along with A&A’s first solo show ‘Exquisite Corpse’ in 2020, which presented three transcendent pieces of furniture, shown here, all of which were quickly acquired.

Adam conceived the initial designs and patterns for Talleo – a tallboy, Archant – a console, and Longbow – a credenza, which were finessed in dialogue with Arthur to maximise straw marquetry’s astounding visual effects. Using just a scalpel, ruler and wood glue, Arthur has decorated the three pieces in a series of richly coloured geometric patterns informed by the shape of each item.

For more information on A&A, or to commission a one-off collectable object that celebrates the kaleidoscopic visual effects of straw marquetry, visit adamandarthur.com.

[Images courtesy of Adam+Arthur. Photography by Victoria Zschommler, Andrew Curtis and Josh Purnell.]