Aleksandra Pollner Furniture

GLEANING by ALEKSANDRA POLLNER Gleaning in this body of work is a gathering of cultural and material leftovers by highlighting and utilizing found and donated styrofoam which has u...

Aleksandra Pollner Gleaning: Table, 2022 Found and donated styrofoam, polyurethane, steel frame, papier-mâché, lacquer, glass 14 x 58 x 26 in GLEANING by ALEKSANDRA POLLNER Gleaning in this body of work is a gathering of cultural and material leftovers by highlighting and utilizing found and donated styrofoam which has undergone numerous treatments and embalming techniques. Formed styrofoam, like a prehistoric carcass, has always captivated my imagination — of what it once held, protected; and the inevitable anthropological question of what it may say about our civilization. According to the EPA, 96% of styrofoam in the US is discarded into landfills to never decompose or break down. With trash bins overflowing with styrofoam throughout the pandemic lockdowns and panic buying, I began to collect and run these pieces through various techniques and traditional methods of making such as suminagashi (the ancient art of Japanese paper marbling), hydroprinting, gilding, and techniques used in historical papier-mâché furniture...