Paper City Looks Into the Crazy Beautiful World of Chris Schanck

Chris Schanck. Photo: Josh Scott
Chris Schanck (3D Design ’11) was recently interviewed by Paper City Magazine coinciding with his retrospective exhibition, Chris Schanck: Off-World at The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York.
He details the development of his work and sheds light on influences from his childhood and education. The aluminum foil treatment of his found-object sculptural furniture is a reference to a period of stability for his family when his father gained employment at a Dallas-area aluminum factory. Schanck credits the rigorous group critiques at Cranbrook Academy of Art with teaching him to think critically about his work and the boundaries of furniture. “It gave me freedom to dig as deep as I wanted within that space and explore it.”
Schanck’s retrospective is on view at MAD through January 8, 2023, and was guest curated by Andrew Satake Blauvelt (Design ’88), Director of Cranbrook Art Museum. The museum has two of Schanck’s works in its permanent collection, which were recently on view in With Eyes Opened: Cranbrook Academy of Art Since 1932.
“In my heart, I’m an artist — designing furniture is how I’ve found my way.” Chris Schanck to Paper City Magazine.