MO-MO’S TABLE BY MICHAEL BENNETT

We Gotta Get Back to the Crib

Michael Bennett

DRAWING ON BLACK AMERICAN VERNACULAR FOR A SENSE OF HOME, BENNETT’S COLLECTION IS EXPLORES HOW WE RETURN TO CORE PRINCIPLES OF IDENTITY, CULTURE, AND FAMILY WHEN WE ENCOUNTER MOMENTS OF DOUBT, FEAR, AND LOSS. EACH OF THE WORKS INVITES US TO RETURN TO OURSELVES, TO FIND STRENGTH AND RESILIENCE IN THE tranquil SPACE OF HOME.

FOR BENNETT, THE COLLECTION BECOMES A CRADLE FOR CONNECTION WITH BLACK CULTURAL HISTORY AND ANCESTRY, PAYING HOMAGE TO A RICH LINEAGE OF EXCELLENCE IN CRAFTSMANSHIP AND STORYTELLING. DRAWING ON FORMS and geometries found in west African design, motifs in Caribbean art, and Bennett’s upbringing in the coastal American south, the sculptural collection is rooted in ideas of intersectionality, place, and community within the African diaspora

Working with fine American artisans to craft each work, Bennett reimagines domestic mainstays, such as tables and seating, while imbuing them with poignant references to Black history and art. Bennett Names his works after family members and cultural touchstones to connect the material and ancestral history with the people and settings most important to him

the Mo-Mo dining table, a large circular table designed to seat up to ten people and Topped with a central rotating tray for distributing food, reinforces Bennett’s ethos of encouraging communion and discourse while also nodding to West African griots and the Black matriarchs behind them

STUDIOTWENTYSEVEN