sebastian errazuriz's explosion cabinet lengthens with a single push

sebastian errazuriz’s explosion cabinet lengthens with a single push
(above) explosion cabinet, 2013
maple, glass, and stainless steel
29 1/4 x 56 x 15 7/8 in. (74.30 x 142.24 x 40.48 cm)
carnegie museum of art, pittsburgh, women’s committee acquisition fund
all images courtesy of sebastian errazuriz

for ‘look again’, his first solo museum exhibition opening on september 6th, 2014 at the carnegie museum of art, sebastian errazuriz presents the ‘explosion’ cabinet made from maple, glass, and stainless steel. as a closed unit, the piece stands as wooden credenza with transparent side panels providing a glimpse within its intriguing volume.

a central vertical seam beckons a physical response: with a gentle push, internal rails slide further and further apart until it seems that the cabinet has erupted from its original form. as its exterior extends and extrudes outward, it retains aesthetically beautiful geometric proportions, using complex mechanics perfected by errazuriz over the course of a year (despite borrowing one of cabinetmaking’s oldest tricks, the sliding dovetail). exhibition curator rachel delphia describes the piece as ‘a beautiful, surprising, and confounding work that represents the playful conceit of the master cabinetmaker showing off.’

wooden beams extend and extrude outward

internal rails slide further and further apart until it seems that the cabinet has erupted from its original form

the closed unit

a simple pull begins the ‘explosion’

intricate and complex geometries made up the wooden framework

extending the facade

closed