Distorted Futures:
Daniel Arsham for Friedman Benda

December 8, 2019

By NESS

 

Shown in Design Miami, Daniel Arsham for Friedman Benda explores classical archetypes and fictional settings. It brings to the fore a tension between the quotidian and the distorted. As we imagine ourselves living in the space of this FestiveNESS pick, we ask ourselves to what degree can the future exist materially in the present?

Daniel Arsham for Friedman Benda

The latest project in his multi-disciplinary practice, Arsham moves away from the traditional constraints of an art fair, transforming the space into a kunstkammer that is both recognizably part of Arsham’s narrative and breaks new ground.

Originally conceived out of personal motivation to control his own surroundings and a practical need to furnish his Long Island home, designed by pioneering Modernist architect Norman Jaffe, Arsham then went on to develop and realize a body of work expanded into a fictionalized environment. Creating pieces he would want to use and live with every day, Arsham named works for places and people who have been important in his life.

The works on view are a continuation and further exploration of Arsham’s iconic and immediately recognizable practice of creating fossilized “future” relics that distort the viewer’s perception of space and time.

In contrast, some examples of furniture represent a significant departure for Arsham and signify the development of new vocabularies of form as he investigates, challenges, and recreates classical archetypes in design.

 

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