Whether creating furniture, jewellery, lighting, or everyday objects, Bethan Laura Wood’s work uses a bold colour palette, detailed patterns, varied textures, and a combination of materials. Her work is a kaleidoscope of colours and patterns that immediately grabs you.
Be it a stained teacup, an ornately regal chair, or patterned modular furniture, Wood’s artistic approach invites the visitor to look beyond the expected daily use of the object. We ask ourselves, “What more is there?”
the Design Museum’s new Platform hosts Bethan Laura Wood
Currently, the Design Museum is showcasing over seventy objects by the British designer and artist Bethan Laura Wood. A mix of vibrant and colourful new pieces and some of Wood’s previous work make up the first solo exhibition in a UK museum of Wood’s work.
Found on the museum’s first-floor balcony, Bethan Laura Wood is the Design Museum’s inaugural artist for their newest exhibit: PLATFORM. The exhibition reflects the museum’s desire to champion contemporary design.
What is exciting about the new exhibition is the ability for visitors to view Wood’s process from conception to a finished piece as she opens her archives to the public. The exhibition could be called a taster of how Wood interacts with design. With PLATFORM, we are allowed to glimpse into the artistic mind of one of the most exciting new designers of the past decade.
In Three Parts: Desire, Adornment and Hyperreality
Bethan Laura Wood is fascinated with how we connect with everyday objects that are part of our daily routines and how and why we are drawn to a specific piece. She aims to create objects that we desire to keep as a lasting part of our own personal collection.
DESIRE: What makes us pick one object over?
The first part of her exhibition, DESIRE, introduces us to beautiful objects that sometimes go unnoticed and under-appreciated.
The porcelain Flock Stain cup is intentionally stained so that the porcelain reveals a pattern that becomes more pronounced with continual use. Where a change in quality might be seen as an imperfection, Wood’s tea cups become more valuable over time.
Colour is an obvious dominant partner from the beginning. Inspired by paintings hanging in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, Wood created a colourful and embroidered installation of desserts called Watermelon Stack and Banana Split.
The beautifully hand-blown wall-mounted Bloom wall lights are designed in the shape of floating flowers. Created in collaboration with Italian and Mexican artisans, this points to Wood’s interest in the collaborative nature between artists.
ADORNMENT: Ornate Functionality
There is nothing superfluous about the ornamentation and decoration of Wood’s pieces that make up the second part of her exhibition: ADORNMENT. Her pieces balance functionality and the ornate, which in turn requires us to look at how both aspects of decoration can live in harmony.
The Maria Chaise A-Tolix Le Grand Dame chair is a wonderful example of Wood’s reinterpretation of Toilx’s “Model A” chair. In part inspired by the robot Maschinenmensch Maria from the film ‘Metropolis’ (1927) and Queen Elizabeth I, the piece combines a feminine form with industrial power.
HYPERREALITY: Man versus Nature
In the final section of Wood’s PLATFORM exhibition, HYPERREALITY sees Woodworking with everyday objects, such as the Bluestocking Salon and Mother Tongue pieces.
Avid fans of Alice will find a colourful homage to the classic book with the Meisen Caterpillar cabinet, which references the caterpillar in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” with the multiple drawers representing the long, segmented body of the hookah-smoking caterpillar. The swirls of smoke from his hookah are reflected in the colourful bespoke ALPI veneer.
Many will be drawn to the electric nature of Bethan Laura Wood’s colourful designs. As I walked around the exhibition, I found myself returning to certain pieces that connected with me. Her work’s vibrancy caught my eye and has remained with me long after leaving the museum.
PLATFORM – Bethan Laura Woods at the Design Museum
14 February 2025 — January 2026 – Free Admission
