The Future Perfect kicked off Frieze New York and NYCxDesign with two collections: ‘Alchemy Turning into Gold’ by Tbilisi–based Rooms, and a new series of glass furniture and objects by Seattle artist John Hogan.
Rooms founders Keti Toloraia and Nata Janberdize salvaged 100-year-old wood from demolished houses in Georgia to create sculptural furniture with elements of handcraft work, Soviet architecture and celestial shapes. ‘We wanted to go back to our roots, so it is a mix of the spirit of the Soviet era and traditional aesthetics, but we also try to achieve a contemporary look,’ Toloraia and Janberdize say. The simple geometric chairs, tables and light fixtures in contrasting bright brass and dark stained wood blend past and present, evoking both manmade and natural structures, outer space and earth.
True to its name, ‘Alchemy Turning into Gold’ has several pieces featuring polished gold brass. The most literal is a set of three grid-patterned tables, one in black steel, one in vintage brass, and one in polished brass to display this transformation from black steel to gold. ‘All the finishes are raw, so although they have turned it “into gold” and there is alchemy, they’ll be lived with and will turn back [into steel],’ says David Alhadeff, founder of The Future Perfect. ‘It shows how fleeting that concept of alchemy can be and how quickly it will escape us.’
Similarly, Hogan’s glassworks (above) constantly shift their light and colour depending on its surroundings. Conceived exclusively for The Future Perfect for its gallery programme, Hogan has created furniture — a table and a set of tables — for the first time. The ‘Ripple’ tables are three blown-glass spheres with industrial glass tops fused to them to refract light like a drop of water or a bubble. The ‘Reflect’ table features hand-blown mirrored glass balls topped with a circular glass disc, creating a multitude of reflections within the table’s base.
‘I decided to treat it similarly to how I do sculpture. It makes sense that if you are going to interrupt somebody’s space at this scale, then it ought to be functioning,’ Hogan says. For ‘Ecru’ and ‘Lull’, hollow glass vessels that can be filled with water to be lenses, the artist is very aware of how much they can alter a room. ‘They can go through the entire color spectrum, depending on what’s around them, and transform the environment – they’re an anchor to the space.’
To convey that, three VR headsets in the New York store transport viewers to Hogan’s work in situ at Casa Perfect, the 3,000 sq ft house in Los Angeles designed by Korean-American architect David Hyun that serves as The Future Perfect’s Los Angeles gallery. There, one can see Hogan’s work poolside and throughout the 1957 outpost. Both collections will debut later at The Future Perfect’s San Francisco store.
Sculptural furniture designs nod to Soviet architecture and celestial shapes
Simple geometric chairs, tables and light fixtures in contrasting bright brass and dark stained wood blend past and present
Meanwhile, John Hogan's glassware was created exclusively for The Future Perfect's gallery programme
Hogan has also created furniture – a table and a set of tables – for the first time
The handblown 'Ripple' and 'Refract' glass tables play with light
VR headsets in the New York store transport viewers to Hogan’s work in situ at Casa Perfect
INFORMATION
For more information, visit The Future Perfect website
ADDRESS
The Future Perfect
55 Great Jones Street
New York NY 10012
-
Lexus finally confirms the name of its all-electric LFA Concept supercarStill designated a design study, the Lexus LFA Concept should be the successor to the most unlikely of all 20th-century supercars
-
King of cashmere Brunello Cucinelli on his new biographical docu-drama: ‘This is my testimony’Directed by Cinema Paradiso’s Giuseppe Tornatore, ‘Brunello: the Gracious Visionary’ premiered in cinematic fashion at Rome’s Cinecittà studios last night, charting the meteoric rise of the deep-thinking Italian designer
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt’s wet, windy and wintry and, this week, the Wallpaper* team craved moments of escape. We found it in memories of the Mediterranean, flavours of Mexico, and immersions in the worlds of music and art
-
Nadia Lee Cohen distils a distant American memory into an unflinching new photo book‘Holy Ohio’ documents the British photographer and filmmaker’s personal journey as she reconnects with distant family and her earliest American memories
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt’s been a week of escapism: daydreams of Ghana sparked by lively local projects, glimpses of Tokyo on nostalgic film rolls, and a charming foray into the heart of Christmas as the festive season kicks off in earnest
-
Ed Ruscha’s foray into chocolate is sweet, smart and very AmericanArt and chocolate combine deliciously in ‘Made in California’, a project from the artist with andSons Chocolatiers
-
Inside the work of photographer Seydou Keïta, who captured portraits across West Africa‘Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens’, an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, New York, celebrates the 20th-century photographer
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekFrom sumo wrestling to Singaporean fare, medieval manuscripts to magnetic exhibitions, the Wallpaper* team have traversed the length and breadth of culture in the capital this week
-
Who are the nine standout artists that shaped Frieze London 2025?Amid the hectic Frieze London schedule, many artists were showcasing extraordinary work this year. Here are our favourites
-
María Berrío creates fantastical worlds from Japanese-paper collages in New YorkNew York-based Colombian artist María Berrío explores a love of folklore and myth in delicate and colourful works on paper
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors' picks of the weekThe London office of Wallpaper* had a very important visitor this week. Elsewhere, the team traverse a week at Frieze
