Wrapped. welded. woven. These words open Tanya Aguiñiga's website. And one look at the Los Angeles-based furniture designer's work, with its gently bent steel supports, hand-felted skins and textured rugs, it's clear she spends a lot of time engaged in these three processes.

Tanya refers to herself as a designer/maker, a significant moniker in that the physical involvement with these pieces - the actual making part - should not be overlooked. There is more going on here than just sending a spec sheet to a fabricator. She speaks about her tools with love ("I had these really, really nice bending devices") and the technical aspects of making her work - the math, the proportions, the material interactions - are on the tip of her tongue.

But what seems to be at the heart of the matter is a thoughtful exploration of craft-based disciplines - weaving, welding, felting, woodworking - grounded by an awareness of history and cultural practices. Whether it's a felt fence dangling from the ceiling as a harmless divider or a chair inspired by the weaving looms she saw in the many homes across the Oaxacan valley, her work is witty, tactile and fresh. Yet, underneath all that clean, bright color and soft wool, there are complex memories and emotions.

As a child growing up in Tijuana and studying in San Diego, Tanya crossed the border every day to go to school. Her ability to go back and forth "between the first and third world" gave her a unique perspective. In an artist statement, she explains that her color palette - acid green, mustard yellow, deep turquoise - is influenced by the fruit and candy markets in downtown Tijuana. The clean lines of her pieces though, grew out of the organization of California's freeways.

With an eye towards community activism, Tanya began making installation pieces, but slowly segued into functional art, mainly furniture.

"I had issues with making paintings , something that just expression. It felt self-indulgent to me. Growing up in an economy of need, I was so used to every single thing around you being used."

These days, Tanya lives and works in Los Angeles - a place that perhaps has more an economy of want than need. Has it changed her work?

"Everything is a little more playful... You are free to do whatever you want in California. You have a lot of room, its sunny, and it's just like ‘I'm going to get all the stuff I need now and do it.'"

After a prolific year - she's made close to 40 pieces - Tanya is looking forward to just being in her studio, being in the sun and maybe taking it easy for the rest of 2008. But looking around at her work - collected for a show at Reform Gallery - she clearly can't help herself.

"Those chairs..." She points to two yarn-wrapped steel chairs with clay additions, "I really want to play more with that. They're a good beginning."

THE DETAILS: Tanya Aguiñiga
Tanya is represented by Reform Gallery
816 N. La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90069
310.854.1033
www.aguinigadesign.com
www.reform-modern.com

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