At Luminato, Stephen Burks and SOCA spark a new design conversation

At Luminato, Stephen Burks and SOCA spark a new design conversation

American designer and artist Stephen Burks has seen his reputation and influence soar in recent years.

Sometimes a lamp is just a lamp. Sometimes it’s a cultural counterproposal – an argument, made in wood and woven fibre, for a different way of seeing the world.

When Stephen Burks brought his Triple Basket Lamp to Toronto a decade ago, it didn’t arrive with fanfare. But the object itself was making noise. Burks had taken an Alvar Aalto stool, a beloved icon of Nordic modernism, and topped it with three hand-coiled Senegalese baskets.

For Kenneth Montague, the piece was a revelation. “That lamp was the first piece of design art in my collection,” he says. “It taught me about a different way of doing design.” Montague