Chris Schanck’s new sculptures at Friedman Benda merge fantasy and science-fiction

For ‘Unhomely’, his first major solo exhibition at Friedman Benda in New York, American designer Chris Schanck has produced a series of 15 pieces where furniture enters in an otherworldly dialogue with art, punctuated by references to fantasy and science-fiction.
Initially trained in sculpture at the School of Visual Arts in New York, Schanck practiced as an artist before continuing his education in the early twenty-tens at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, where he transitioned to design. ‘In short, I wanted to make sculptures you could touch,’ recounts the 42-year old designer, who is known for his furniture of biomorphic lyricism and his unorthodox approach to materials.
It is probably his idiosyncratic, low-tech Alufoil technique — first developed while studying at Cranbrook — that propelled him to international attention. The now-signature method consists of sculpting pieces out of wood and industrial foam, sealed in a resin-based coating and covered with layers of confectioners foil, applied in small pieces.
‘Each piece is first conceived as a sculpture, then I work out how it can be engaged as a design object,’ explains the Detroit-based furniture maker of his meticulous process, which bears similarities to a medieval craft guild practice.
‘Fleshbot’, by Chris Schanck at Friedman Benda, 2018.
Upon graduation, it didn’t take long for industry veterans like William Sofield and Peter Marino to note Schanck’s talent, and commission Alufoil pieces for ambitious retail projects: respectively, the Tom Ford Madison Avenue flagship, and the Dior boutique in Manhasset, New York (which later expanded to 12 more stores, from Paris to Mexico City).
But for his new exhibition at Friedman Benda, Schanck indulged in a creative process at once introspective and mythical, drawing from a wide range of inspirations from brutalist and art deco architecture to ancient Egyptian, Anatolian and Aztec iconography.
Reviving a sense of figuration remindful of his formative years, the series includes a silver, head-shaped cabinet; a gold coffee table resting on a kneeling, contracted human figure, reminiscent of a Pompeii plaster cast; and a highly-sculptural, copper-coloured shelving structure evoking a dystopian, overgrown biotope — which, Schanck explains, was inspired by his neighbourhood of North East Detroit.
‘My neighbours have built gardens on their roofs, they’ve taken abandoned lots and made lot-sized gardens. Things are unregulated, I don’t know that you can get away with this anywhere,’ says Schanck, whose 3,200 sq ft studio is home to 25 employees, ranging from art students to members of the local Bangladeshi community. ‘To me, my neighbourhood very much feels like a living organism, the squash vines integrate and it’s cultural and it creates some kind of network or system of living.’
’Blush’ mirror, 2018 and ’Crustacea’ closet, 2017, both by Chris Schanck
Chris Schanck [American, b. 1975]
Crustacea
Chris Schanck [American, b. 1975]
Crustacea
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
‘Gold 900’ gold coffee table, 2018
‘Spore’ side table, 2018
‘Banglatown’ shelving structure
‘Bloom’
INFORMATION
‘Chris Schanck: Unhomely’ is on view until 14 April. For more information, visit the Friedman Benda website
ADDRESS
Friedman Benda
515 W 26th Street
New York
-
David Cronenberg’s ‘The Shrouds’ is the film for our post-truth digital age
The film director draws on his own experience of grief for this techno conspiracy thriller
-
Cambridge Audio's new earbuds offer premium performance without denting your pocket
The Cambridge Audio Melomania A100 earbuds demonstrate just how far affordable audio tech has come in the last decade
-
A European-style café opens next to London’s Saatchi Gallery
Designed by Dion & Arles, Cafe Linea serves fresh pâtisseries, global dishes and sparkling wines in a stunning Grade II-listed setting
-
‘Her pictures looked like pictures everybody knew were the truth’: Diane Arbus at the Armory
Matthieu Humery curates more than 400 of Arbus’ photographs at New York’s Park Avenue Armory – every picture she was known to have printed
-
Mystic, feminine and erotic: the power of Penny Slinger’s bodies as landscape
Artist Penny Slinger continues her exploration of the sacred, surreal feminine in a Santa Monica exhibition, ‘Meeting at the Horizon’
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the week
It was a jam-packed week for the Wallpaper* staff, entailing furniture, tech and music launches and lots of good food – from afternoon tea to omakase
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been up to this week
This week saw the Wallpaper* team jet-setting to Jordan and New York; those of us left in London had to make do with being transported via the power of music at rooftop bars, live sets and hologram performances
-
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