Friedman Benda returns to Design Miami with Asymmetrical Symmetry, two parallel room settings featuring the work of eleven contemporary designers. Contrasts, opposites and asymmetries will illustrate the rich diversity and backgrounds of designers spanning four continents and four generations, while calling attention to the breadth and depth of each individual designer’s practice.
One room, a juxtaposition of non-traditional materials in a frenzy of vibrant colors and textures, marks Friedman Benda’s first collaboration with American artist CHRIS SCHANCK.This setting will feature a monumental contemporary dining table and mirror, and a new series of armchairs in Schanck’s signature Alufoil technique and will preview his first solo exhibition at Friedman Benda in September 2017. MISHA KAHN, fresh from a working trip to South Africa, will present the first in a new series of cabinets produced in Swaziland made with woven grass, trash, car parts, and sea glass. The inclusion of the CAMPANA BROTHERS’ bi-level marquetry table along with a pair of pink Pirarucu armchairs, complete the room.
The second setting is an exploration of volumes, with furniture and objects in natural materials and earthy tones. British designer FAYE TOOGOOD’S volumetric Roly-Poly dining chairs in silver nitrate bronze will preview her first solo exhibition with Friedman Benda, Assemblage 5, opening February 23, 2017. These chairs will be paired with Korean designer BYUNG HOON CHOI’S minimalist sculptural dining table in light oak and stone. American design legend, WENDELL CASTLE, now 84, will show the first in his exciting new Block series of carved chairs ‘born’ of wood, referencing classical sculpture of the Renaissance period, MARCEL WANDERS’ low embroidered leather Odjurss äte Murmur chairs will be juxtaposed with Los Angeles based artist ADAM SILVERMAN’s organic ceramic vessels. The setting will include lighting – the unveiling of Chilean design studio GT2P’s new Remolten Lava table lamps made from lava excavated from Chile’s Villarrica Volcano; a voluminous rice paper and bamboo floor lamp by the influential Italian architect and designer ANDREA BRANZI, as well as British designer PAUL COCKSEDGE’SCapture, a hand-spun aluminum dome chandelier, which holds the glow of a warm white light, but with no visible source.
Brooklyn-based CALICO WALLPAPER will unify the rooms, a second collaboration with the company’s founders. Inspired by the concept of optical illusion, Calico Wallpaper will present a site-specific print of their Aurora wallpaper with a custom pattern designed to play with the viewer’s perception and challenge one’s visual system.
