Alexander May, founder of LA studio Sized, on the joys of creative polymathy
Creative director Alexander May tells us of the multidisciplinary approach that drives his LA studio Sized and its offspring, a 5,000 sq ft event space and an exhibition series

For American creative director Alexander May – featured 2024’s Wallpaper* USA 400, as well as in an accompanying photographic portfolio by Inez & Vinoodh – creativity is a fluid concept.
May’s work has encompassed large-scale exhibitions, brand strategy, set design and creative direction. After working with brands from Yola Mezcal to Skims, it felt natural to set up on his own, and May launched creative studio Sized, which also boasts a multifunctional 5,000 sq ft event space, in Los Angeles, in 2021. He has since also established Sized Selects, an ongoing curation of design, furniture and art pieces from around the world.
From the launch campaign of the ‘Bocci 14’ light, creative direction at Sized Studio
‘I think today everyone's quite familiar with creatives who dabble, or who are quite proficient in many different fields,’ says May. ‘When I was coming into [the creative arena], it felt quite polarising in terms of interactions. Design as a whole was this other world that no one from the art world or fashion world really coalesced with, although they were inspired by it and bought and collected from it. But it wasn’t part of the same conversation.’
May eschewed this rigidity between the disciplines early on in his career, cementing his multidisciplinary style of practice during time based in Milan, where he set up the Fondazione Converso in 2017. Located in the 16th-century San Paolo Converso church, the space celebrates an alternative approach to the showcasing and curation of art, design and performance. ‘I was utilising the front of the church, which is the most ornate part, as a space to curate, and populate with emerging performance talent and artists that I knew,’ says May. ‘I started developing this programme, basically connecting artists, designers and performers inside the church, in a new context that was very city specific.’
Sized collaborated with artist Vanessa Beecroft on a private viewing of her archive and Los Angeles studio, 2021
This interweaving of creativity and connections is something he took with him upon his return to the US. ‘It was a little bit of a leap because I came to LA and I started the agency that today is Sized. It all started off with this moment, this large conversation around an exhibition, which is what I knew how to do.
‘It's definitely been a bit of carving my own path, which is something I've always done instinctively. I built Sized to be an umbrella so we can collaborate – collaboration is really at the core of everything I do. Sized is an umbrella brand for anyone coming in, so if you're buying from us or if you're collaborating with us, if you're a client or operating a pop-up inside of the studio, your autonomy remains the same, but you become part of a larger context, part of the bigger framework which I've created.’
USM Modular Furniture at Sized Selects, 2024
With so many collaborations throughout the world of art, design, architecture and culture under his belt, what’s next for May? ‘I'm also now venturing more formally into doing design work under my own name; a couple of collaborations will be coming out in the fall. It's fun. It's an exciting thing to be able to hone in and push what I want to see, and what I think is important.’
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Alexander May is featured in the US-focused August 2024 issue of Wallpaper*, available to download free when you sign up to our daily newsletter; in print on newsstands; on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS; and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today
Sized Selects 001 at Sized Studio
Hannah Silver is the Art, Culture, Watches & Jewellery Editor of Wallpaper*. Since joining in 2019, she has overseen offbeat design trends and in-depth profiles, and written extensively across the worlds of culture and luxury. She enjoys meeting artists and designers, viewing exhibitions and conducting interviews on her frequent travels.
-
The bespoke Jaguar E-Type GTO melds elements from every era of the classic sports car
ECD Automotive Design’s one-off commission caters to a client who wanted to combine the greatest hits of Jaguar’s E-Type along with modern conveniences and more power
-
Casa Sanlorenzo debuts in Venice as a new hub for contemporary art
The luxury yachting leader unveils a stunning new space in a palazzo restored by Piero Lissoni – where art, innovation, and sustainability come together
-
Once vacant, London's grand department stores are getting a new lease on life
Thanks to imaginative redevelopment, these historic landmarks are being rebonr as residences, offices, gyms and restaurants. Here's what's behind the trend
-
Photographer Geordie Wood takes a leap of faith with first film, Divers
Geordie Wood delved into the world of professional diving in Fort Lauderdale for his first film
-
New book celebrates 100 years of New York City landmarks where LGBTQ+ history took place
Marc Zinaman’s ‘Queer Happened Here: 100 Years of NYC’s Landmark LGBTQ+ Places’ is a vital tribute to queer culture
-
A major Takashi Murakami exhibition sees the world in kaleidoscopic colour
The Cleveland Art Museum presents 'Takashi Murakami 'Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow', exploring outrage and escapist fantasy
-
Ai Weiwei’s new public installation is coming soon to Four Freedoms State Park
‘Camouflage’ by Ai Weiwei will launch the inaugural Art X Freedom project in September 2025, a new programme to investigate social justice and freedom
-
Leonard Baby's paintings reflect on his fundamentalist upbringing, a decade after he left the church
The American artist considers depression and the suppressed queerness of his childhood in a series of intensely personal paintings, on show at Half Gallery, New York
-
Unlike the gloriously grotesque imagery in his films, Yorgos Lanthimos’ photographs are quietly beautiful
An exhibition at Webber Gallery in Los Angeles presents Yorgos Lanthimos’ photography
-
Desert X 2025 review: a new American dream grows in the Coachella Valley
Will Jennings reports from the epic California art festival. Here are the highlights
-
Cowboys and Queens: Jane Hilton's celebration of culture on the fringes
Photographer Jane Hilton captures cowboy and drag queen culture for a new exhibition and book