Furnished Raw
7.23.2009 - 8.29.2009

Contemporary furniture designed and constructed by four Philadelphians.  Furnishings by Daniel Petraitis, Luis Montoya, Mike Parsell and Anthony Angelicola.  Including furniture made of recycled materials, low impact manufactured products, and designed with a simplified aesthetic.  

Daniel Petraitis

Daniel Petraitis received his BFA in glass from Massachusetts College of Art.  He returned to his native city of Philadelphia in 2004, where he currently lives and works.  He has shown at galleries throughout Philadelphia including The Wexler Gallery, Projects Gallery, The Center For Emerging Visual Artists, Kelly Weber Fine Art, Little Berlin, Silica Galleries, and Vox Populi.  In addition to visual art, Daniel runs a custom fabrication shop working with clients on a wide variety of projects in steel, wood and glass.

His present work is focused on meticulous reproductions of the mundane, the ordinary, and the every day.  The work asks the viewer to re-consider the objects and environments that consume our daily lives.  It intends to transform what is bland and overlooked into something that is both beautiful and precious. It calls to question our cultural values, and asks; what is preciousness, what is beauty, and what is art?

Luis Montoya

birthplace: texas
location: port fishtown
until now: graduated arch. school '97
               lived & worked in the Arizona desert past 10 yrs
likes: pouring concrete
dislikes: moving and lifting concrete
current: co-founder sqft.concepts LLC, trying to make a living building things
quote: "..hold my beer and watch this…"

Mike Parsell

Obviously, the first thing I ever built was a half-pipe in the backyard of my parent's house. This process involved scavenging, foraging, imagination, guessing, and maybe a tiny bit of theft. Over the years, I have developed as a carpenter, gaining experience and know-how and refining my aesthetic, but I have still hung on to those first creative impulses. If there is a want for something necessary - or even just useful - it seems natural and logical to create a piece that is also beautiful and unique. I take joy in being capable of making just that exact thing.  Too many people accept the terms of our disposable culture.  I create furniture from the remnants of my job sites and the basements of others. I conceive pieces with a purpose and place to which they are particularly suited.  In my day to day work, I see so much waste.  I let it crowd my garage until I get around to making something out of it.  Sometimes, I dream of tigers.

Anthony Angelicola

Anthony Angelicola received a BFA in film and digital video from the University of the Arts.  Working and experimenting in a number of different media led to an increased interest in creating multidisciplinary work in a collaborative environment.  His work has shown in Philadelphia, New York, and internationally.  He is interested in creating work that is simple and unassuming.  Anthony currently lives and works in Philadelphia.