Biography
Dotan Appelbaum is a furniture designer, maker and writer from Minneapolis, Minnesota (b. 1999), and currently based in Providence, Rhode Island. Dotan holds an MFA in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design, as well as a BA from Wesleyan University having majored in sociology and studio art, with a focus in painting. Prior to his final year at Wesleyan, he studied woodworking at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship. These four areas of study combine in his work to produce unique outcomes that push the limits of the various fields and ways of working.
Dotan brings a theory-oriented sociological approach to furniture design. Mining histories of design, as well as contemporary trends and precedents, he seeks to question and undermine how we understand our social relationship to furniture and craft. His work takes the form of both writing and furniture objects.
Dotan’s work has been shown in NYC Design Week, the Zilka Gallery in Middletown, CT, the Woods-Gerry Gallery, and the Sol-Koffler Gallery in Providence, RI, various craft schools, as well as in Deisgn Week RI. He has won numerous awards, including ‘Best in Show’ in the Innovation + Design Awards from the International Society of Furniture Designers and first place in the ‘Open Category’ in the Fresh Woods competition.
Mission Statement
I take a critical orientation towards design and craft with a sociological disposition. I am dedicated to unraveling the intricate tapestry of the built environment’s histories, dissecting the deep-seated ideologies shaping the design world. Currently, my practice is focused on discourses about ornamentation, their relationship to liberal capitalism, colonialism, and enlightenment teleologies of progress, as well as the enduring significance these logics and ideologies have on contemporary design. Through rigorous research, insightful writing, and innovative studio work, I challenge conventional norms, creating unique objects that question, subvert, and humorously dissect the historical underpinnings of design.