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From Home Furnishing Business
RISD Participates in ICFF + Wanted During NYCxDesign
May 5,
2026 by Karen Parrish in Business Strategy, Designer Weekly, Industry 
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) is pleased to participate in the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) + WANTED at the Jacob K. Javits Center during NYCxDESIGN 2026 from May 17–19 in New York, NY. This year in WANTED at ICFF (booth W981), RISD’s Furniture Design department will present Intrinsic Values, a selection of works from BFA and MFA students that examine the role of furniture in contemporary life and the values that shape its creation.
Intrinsic Values – WANTED Booth W981
Working across diverse materials and processes, these works balance traditional craftsmanship with experimental approaches, engaging dialogues between hand and machine, structure and expression, and function and narrative. Together, they position furniture as utility, as art, and as a medium for questioning domestic conventions, environmental responsibility, and the emotional resonance of material form.
RISD Furniture Design is committed to rigorous making, critical thinking, and the cultivation of distinctive design voices. At the intersection of craft, material research, and conceptual inquiry, this collection reflects the shared values and voices of an emerging generation of designers.
RISD FD Values Interconnection at every scale
RISD FD Values Craft as origin, not ornament
RISD FD Values Metabolizing cultural matter
RISD FD Values Objects as records of decision-making
RISD FD Values Ambiguity as invitation
RISD FD Values Subtle gestures as quiet disruption
RISD FD Values Attentiveness to ethics
RISD FD Values Quiet gestures, deep impact
RISD FD Values Gentleness as methodology
RISD FD Values Materials as carriers of memory
RISD FD Values Curiosity as a way of knowing
RISD FD Values Feminine lineages and shared ground
RISD FD Values Contradiction as a generative force
RISD FD Values Juxtaposition as a way of seeing anew
The work includes Filet Lamp by Mary Alford MFA 2026, New River Chair by Muhammad Asif MFA 2026, Void Cabinet by Anoushka Chaudhuri BFA 2026, Branch Chair by Elizabeth Che BFA 2026, The People’s System by Jack Crane BFA 2027, Occasional Cabinet by Lieyah Dagan MFA 2026, Screenshot 2017-01-02 at 01.35.00 PM by Russ Fogle MFA 2027, Cart by Andrew Goulet MFA 2026, Cairn by Gregory Kmieciak MFA 2026, Splayed Windsor Chair by Zoe Maxwell BFA 2026, Black Currant Sconce, Wax Linen Box Sconce, and Ash Horn Sconce by Maggie McCreery BFA 2026, Camera Irritants (#1 and #2) by Spencer Graham Peterson MFA 2026, secretary: (c)hair by elle wall BFA 2026, and Ermine Chair by Samuel Webster BFA 2026.
Other RISD Participation During NYCxDESIGN 2026
In addition, RISD Furniture Design faculty member Amy Devers MFA 01 FD, executive producer and host of Clever Podcast, will moderate Emerging Designers Spotlight Live on the ICFF Talks Main Stage on Sunday, May 17 at 4 pm. Alum Jonsara Ruth 92 ID will participate in the conversation Designing Out Toxicity: Toward Healthier Material Futures at The Oasis at ICFF on Sunday, May 17 at 3 pm. All talks are open to ICFF + WANTED event registrants. Register here to attend.
Alums are also engaged in other NYCxDESIGN programming and activity beyond the Javits Center. Martine Gutierrez 17 PR, Mo Costello MFA 14 PH, and Maia Chao MFA 17 GL are featured in the Whitney Biennial 2026. Furniture Design faculty member Pete Oyler MFA 09 FD will be exhibiting at Paraphernalia: Alien at the SO-IL building (144 Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn) from May 8–22 and in the Flying High, Kite Exhibition on May 30 (Beach 97th Street in Rockaway Beach, Queens from 12–5 pm and film screening at Arverne Cinema, 415 B 72nd Street, Arverne, NY from 8:30–10:00 pm). For a directory of all known RISD community participation at NYCxDESIGN, please visit connect.risd.edu/page/art-fairs-new-york-design-week.
Photo by Erik Gould. From L-R: Elizabeth Che BFA 2026, Branch Chair; Zoe Maxwell BFA 2026, Splayed Windsor Chair; Mary Alford MFA 2026, Filet Lamp.