Use Me, I'm Fragile at The Future Perfect New York

The Future Perfect, the design gallery known for contemporary furniture, lighting and objects, is showing Use Me, I'm Fragile as its latest exhibition in New York. The title sets up a deliberate contradiction: an invitation to use things that could easily break.

In early October the gallery released a video tour on its official Instagram account. Managing director Laura Young leads the walk-through, which the caption bills as "a very fragile tour." It also thanks John McMahan for "taking a hit," a nod to the show's theme that suggests the tour does not treat its delicate subject too solemnly.

The Future Perfect has built its reputation on design that is meant to be lived with as much as looked at, and the exhibition's title points in the same direction. Rather than keeping fragile objects behind a barrier of reverence, the show appears to ask what it means to handle, touch and rely on pieces that can be damaged.

For anyone in New York with an interest in design or craft, the video offers a quick sense of the space and the tone before a visit. The gallery's website carries its further details.