The Future Perfect’s latest collections nod to Soviet architecture, alchemy and light

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
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Aesop’s Queer Library bookmarks brilliant literature, no purchase required
Returning to London’s Soho, 3-6 July 2025, the Queer Library pop-up offers complimentary books by LGBTQIA+ authors and allies
-
Wangechi Mutu's powerful sculptures take over the palatial interiors of Rome's Galleria Borghese
The Kenyan-born artist is the first living woman to have a solo exhibition at the villa
-
Il Sereno’s new Listening Suite is what phonophiles’ dreams are made of
Designed by Patricia Urquiola and Il Sereno founder and audiophile Luis Contreras, the new Lake Como-facing suite unites Japanese listening culture with Italian design
-
‘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
-
The alternative art fairs championing emerging artists
The lower barrier to entry to these smaller and specialist art fairs make them hubs of grassroots creativity, allowing emerging names to establish a foothold in the industry