 "Photo: Sean Yendrys")
 "Photo: Sean Yendrys")
 "Photo: Sean Yendrys")
By looking over his past shows, you might assume that Sean Yendrys has a chair fetish.
The 22-year-old Concordia graphic design student is curating his second Art Matters show at Concordia this week. And like last year, he is featuring some chairs in his display.
“There is a big possibility that my phone will die,” Yendrys said, upon my third phone call in two days. “I’ve spent the last 48 hours at Concordia. I haven’t had a chance to recharge it.”
The man is busy, and with good reason.
Yendrys’ latest show, Material Applied, is not quite finished, as final touches are being put on an intricate tubing chair, which Yendrys is helping to assemble. The vernissage is only days away.
The theme of Material Applied, a show deeply rooted in design art, is three-dimensional structures that possess a specific useful function. The show features 11 artists presenting nine works, ranging from necklaces to, yes, chairs.
Yendrys explained that the chairs made for his show last year, entitled Narratives, was for a Japanese Zen garden display. This year, there are two distinctly unique chair pieces being shown. Yendrys assures me the chair fetish is only a perceived one.
“Chairs are not my niche,” Yendrys said after having a good laugh. “I guess in design programs, [chairs] are quintessential objects that you must explore. Chairs are the basic starting points that must be explored.”
The particular chair Yendrys is working on when I called him is made from 4,000 pieces, mostly found thrown away in garbage cans outside of Concordia, no bigger than the size of your thumb. The chair incorporates 500 triangular pieces made of plywood, 2,500 small wooden sticks and 1,000 pieces of tiny vinyl tubing. The artists at the helm of the intricate tubing chair are Brian Li and Kyosuke Nishida, the same duo responsible for last year’s Japanese Zen garden.
There are 200 pieces left to assemble on Saturday afternoon and Yendrys is worried about the chair sustaining the weight of curious gallery visitors.
“We are trying to avoid people constantly sitting on this chair, although people can definitely sit on the bungee cord one,” he said. “Every piece in the gallery should have the potential for wearability or use.”
Another chair being displayed is made of PVC pipes, no different than the plumbing found under a typical sink. Aside from chairs, the other objects on display include necklaces made out of drywall, wallpaper made out of newspaper and an old elementary school desk morphed into a coffee table. The continuous theme, aside from the artistry being fully functional, is to use unique materials. This is in stark contrast to Yendrys’ last Art Matters show, Narratives, whose concept was more open-ended, with more two-dimensional work.
“This year I wanted something more specific, so that the concept would be more tied down,” he said.
Graduating in December, Yendrys hopes to begin a master’s degree in graphic design, specializing in typography. He added his own personal touch to the Material Applied exhibit, carving the show’s name in wood letters and hanging them at the entrance.
“I think I will miss it when I graduate, I love the opportunity,” Yendrys said, before heading back to work on the tubing chair. “It’s really a great way of learning - the classroom environment is interesting and important too - but I’ve learnt far more by the people around me and through the production [of Art Matters].”
Material Applied is being displayed at Les Territoires in the Belgo Building (372 Ste Catherine W. #527). The show runs until March 20, with a vernissage on Thursday, March 11 from 6 to 8 p.m. Drinks and food will be served.
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