The Future Perfect’s latest collections nod to Soviet architecture, alchemy and light
![The Future Perfect presents two new collections for Frieze New York and NYCxDesign](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/dw94LwZAntr5TGVyniE3AU-415-80.jpg)
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
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
-
Feel at home at Auberge, Château La Coste's new inn for culture lovers
Auberge La Coste sits at the heart of the art-filled estate, minutes away from the joyful town of Aix-en-Provence
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
This Nova Lima apartment is a Brazilian family oasis with striking Minas Gerais views
A Nova Lima apartment designed by Jacobsen Arquitetura celebrates its long, natural Minas Gerais vistas
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Commune’s sustainable personal care products look ‘quite unlike anything else’
Commune’s Somerset-made products stand out in the sustainable skincare crowd. Madeleine Rothery speaks with the brand’s co-founders Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux
By Madeleine Rothery Published
-
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
By Hannah Silver Published
-
50 of America’s top creatives, photographed by Inez & Vinoodh
Photographed exclusively for Wallpaper* by Inez & Vinoodh, we present a portfolio of 50 creatives driving the current discourse on American culture and its dynamic evolution
By Dan Howarth Published
-
Nona Faustine confronts the past in New York
Artist Nona Faustine reframes New York's colonial past in an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum
By Hannah Silver Published
-
How the west won: Ivan McClellan is amplifying the intrepid beauty of Black cowboy culture
In his new book, 'Eight Seconds: Black Cowboy Culture', Ivan McClellan draws us into the world of Black rodeo. Wallpaper* meets the photographer ahead of his Juneteenth Rodeo
By Tracy Kawalik Published
-
Casa Bosques’ queer-themed book curation comes to New York’s East Village
In Pride Month 2024, Casa Bosques’ pop-up bookstore in The Standard hotel, East Village, offers a stylish haven for literary mavens
By Hannah Silver Published
-
‘Very few museums were interested in my work until recently’: Amalia Mesa-Bains on her first-ever retrospective
‘Amalia Mesa-Bains: Archaeology of Memory’ is a long-overdue exhibition at El Museo del Barrio in New York celebrating five decades of the trailblazing Chicanx artist
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Frieze New York 2024: what to see in and around the city
Frieze New York 2024 (until Sunday 5 May) sees the city’s ample spring season programming celebrated at The Shed
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Calling NYC grads! Sarabande Foundation invites you to an industry masterclass to pave way into the creative world
‘What Now?’ by Sarabande Foundation is a post-college guide to support graduates in making their next steps, with advice from the likes of Burberry, Thom Browne, and more
By Tianna Williams Published