Resource Space Commission
The Tetley
Leeds
Conceived as a permanent commission for The Tetley’s Resource Space, the project was part of the gallery’s decade-long programme at this former brewery in Leeds (2013–2023). The Tetley has now entered a new chapter, while the organisation continues its work as Yorkshire Contemporary.
Natalie Finnemore’s Resource Space Commission (2013) at The Tetley reconfigured the conventions of the gallery interior by embedding a responsive, user-led installation within a designated learning environment. Developed in collaboration with Lyon & Lyon, the work comprised a system of modular, sculptural forms that operated simultaneously as furniture and as an artwork, inviting continual rearrangement through use. The furniture was constructed entirely from Valchromat, a high-performance engineered wood panel infused with colour throughout its structure.
Resisting fixity, the installation functioned as an open structure shaped by the movements and decisions of its users. Acts of sitting, stacking, gathering, and reconfiguration became integral to the work’s realisation, situating the audience as active agents rather than passive viewers. In this way, Finnemore foregrounded the social and behavioural dimensions of design, examining how spatial arrangements both condition and are conditioned by collective activity.
Alongside the commission, a limited edition print was created that captures the shapes, colours, and playful modularity of the installation.
Photo from top to bottom:
The Tetley Resource Space Commission installation view
Untitled (pavement), 2013
two colour acrylic ink on Cyclus 280gsm paper, 34.2 x 45.7cm. Edition of 25 + 2 AP
