Nicola L. Puts the Fun in Functional
Margaret Carrigan, Observer
September 2017
For Nicola L., our habitats – the surroundings in which we live our lives – are of the utmost importance. Since the 1960s, she has been creating what she termed ‘functional art’, making furniture-like objects that are at once silly, critical and utilitarian. Consider White Foot Sofa (1969), a work that is, well, a white sofa shaped like a foot. Or her numerous La Femme Commode (1969–2014) pieces, lacquered wood cabinets in the shape of women in which their eyes, mouths, breasts and bellies become drawers. […]