ABOVE LEFT: 2008 | POSTER FOR THE WALKMEN | CLIENT: THE METRO
ABOVE RIGHT; 2006 | POSTER FOR SONNENZIMMER ART & PRINT STUDIO | PERSONAL WORK

Emerging Talent No. 20: Sonnenzimmer
Nick Butcher and Nadine Nakanishi started their art and print studio Sonnenzimmer in 2006. Both had been making art and design prior to deciding to combine forces in Sonnenzimmer (“sun room” in German), which has slowly morphed into a business— first with poster jobs, then in artist editions and music packaging. “Our clients have been pretty eclectic,” says Butcher, “everything from Human Rights Watch to local free jazz groups. We’ve found a really great pairing with the Chicago free jazz/improvised music scene. I love working with these folks. We seem to be coming from a similar place.”

Sonnenzimmer doesn’t work with many large companies on big-paying jobs because of the nature of their practice. It’s something that doesn’t seem to be a problem for the partners, because rewards come in other ways. “Sometimes not working in the visual collective library of mainstream graphics is refreshing,” explains Nakanishi. “The people that come to us [have] a disarming openness that always blows Nick and me away. In this setting we can really push the limits. It’s like we take an adventure together. The trust we get is very motivating and inspirational.”

Distinctive and refined, a merger of abstract expressionist collage and strict Swiss typography, Sonnenzimmer’s work stands out. “In the design community there seems to be a recent rebirth of borderline-orthodox modernism, and on the opposite end, an upsurge of chaotic abstraction,” notes designer/illustrator Dan Ibarra of Aesthetic Apparatus. “One embraces strict conceptual, formal thinking, the other embraces dada-esque unconscious process. I see Nick and Nadine as a cross-pollination of both. Sonnenzimmer is creating completely original work that really breathes new life into what is mostly a polarized design philosophy of concept vs. chaos.”

Both Butcher and Nakanishi studied graphic design before launching their hybrid art practice. Butcher was born and raised in Tennessee. He attended Middle Tennessee State University, originally studying music recording, but gravitated to graphic design and eventually fell in love with printmaking. He interned at Hatch Show Print and with Jay Ryan, a Chicago-based poster artist who became his mentor. Butcher relocated to Chicago, set up a studio and met Nakanishi. She was born in Santa Monica, Calif., but moved with her family to Zürich, Switzerland. Nakanishi took Asian Studies at the University of Zürich, then switched to graphic design, eventually receiving a graduate degree in type design from Schule für Medien, Form und Farne, Zürich. She decided to break out of the design world and make art; this pursuit prompted her immigration to Chicago.

The duo sees publications and artist books in their future. “We want to keep our personal life simple so we can maintain the creative freedom of our work,” says Nakanishi. “I guess [we’re] keeping the stakes low but raising the bar at the same time.”