When Loss Becomes Something You Can Touch - Yanko Design

"There's a particular kind of quiet that settles after a wildfire. Not peaceful, not comfortable, just a heavy stillness where something used to be. In January 2025, the Eaton Fire burned through Altadena in the foothills of Los Angeles for twenty-five days, taking nineteen lives and destroying more than 9,000 structures. It became the second most destructive wildfire in California history, leaving behind charred earth and the skeletal remains of trees that once shaded neighborhoods and backyards."

"A year later, at Marta gallery in Los Angeles, 22 local artists and designers are doing something quietly radical with what's left. The exhibition "From the Upper Valley in the Foothills" transforms salvaged wood from those burned Altadena trees into chairs, stools, benches, bowls, and other functional objects. Curated by sculptor Vince Skelly with material support from Angel City Lumber, the show runs through January 31st and offers a different kind of memorial."

The Eaton Fire burned through Altadena for twenty-five days in January 2025, killing nineteen people and destroying over 9,000 structures. At Marta gallery in Los Angeles, 22 local artists and designers, curated by sculptor Vince Skelly with support from Angel City Lumber, transformed salvaged wood from those burned trees into chairs, stools, benches, bowls, and other functional objects. The pieces retain fire damage, smoke marks, and irregular grain, creating a double existence between former tree and potential home shade. Designs range from sculptural to purely functional, reflecting varied personal experiences with the fires and emphasizing community response. Visitors are invited to sit, hold, and contemplate the work as a tactile memorial.

Read at Yanko Design - Modern Industrial Design News