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Primary concerns : James is as passionate about art and sculpture as he is about furniture making. -
Primary concerns : James B. Hannah -
Primary concerns : Roberto Sauls, Dady Ntambwe Mikobi and James create the furniture and art pieces in a Woodstock-based workshop. -
Primary concerns : James' admiration for Mondrian is evident in a fair bit of his work. -
Primary concerns : The Mondrianish side table in a colour choice typical of both James and Mondrian's work. -
Primary concerns : The Braai coffee table and chair harks back to childhood days by the pool.
WORDS: Remy Raitt | PHOTOS: Shavan Rahim
What do you get when you cross the work of Piet Mondrian with Scandinavian simplicity and a proudly South African approach? James B. Hannah’s contemporary mild-steel sculptures and furniture pieces.
To separate his art from his furniture is tricky, as James approaches each piece, whether a chair or a decorative mobile, with the same design ethos. Masculine and minimalistic lines in mild steel are worked together to create contemporary pieces that almost always feature bright primary colours. Saturated red, blue and yellow – as seen in Mondrian’s Neo-Plasticism work – are especially prominent.
“I try to move away from the primary colours sometimes, but I just can’t. I can’t even imagine most of my pieces in any other colours. I guess I don’t use anything else except the odd bit of grey,” James says.
Relatively new to the design game, James left a Johannesburg-based career in film for furniture and sculpture design after being introduced to mild steel by a friend. After a move to Cape Town in 2008, he hasn’t looked back. “I have been into laser-cutting for years, but then I learnt the steel trade and started creating my own furniture pieces too.”
Some of his laser-cut 2D sculptures, which he’s been making since the mid-90s, are still available in limited editions. Commissioned artworks, like a large, red steel yacht for a private client, also keep him busy in his spare time.
Functional art
A devotee to steel, James is bending and welding his chosen materials into pieces that are catching the attention of local and international interior decorators and private customers. With the help of Dady Ntambwe Mikobi and Roberto Sauls, and inspiration from a Mondrian print that hangs on his workshop wall, sparks fly and functional art is created.
James pays homage to his inspirations through the names of his steel collections. His Mondrianish table range makes obvious reference to the Dutch artist, while the Scandinavianish range features bar stools, chairs and tables inspired by Nordic design.
The designer says Scandinavian aesthetics have always appealed to him. In fact, the desk in his Woodstock workshop is a vintage Scandinavian dresser that was transformed by adding a larger tabletop.
Trawling second-hand markets gave James the idea for his Braai table and chair range. Like most South Africans, James remembers the outdoor furniture from his childhood. “They were popping up at all the markets and I noticed how some had better proportions than others, and how some were completely out.”
After spotting the mesh-type grids commonly used for braais at his steel supplier, James embarked on creating his own version of the furniture. The modern take of the gridded chairs and tables are powder-coated in his signature primary colours, resulting in contemporary outdoor pieces that will look just as good indoors.
James says he has big plans to exhibit both his art and furniture items this year, so keep your eyes on his website for more details.
More information: http://jbhdesign.squarespace.com, [email protected]
