Exploring Human Narratives through Malleable Sculptural Seating

FDT Bureau

Philadelphia-based artist Nick Missel recently presented a series of sculptural seats at Design Miami’s 2024 Los Angeles edition, drawing inspiration from scrap materials and the resourcefulness of the working class. These unique furniture pieces, exhibited at Wexler Gallery’s booth alongside five other artists, showcase Missel’s exploration of malleable forms and textured surfaces. Know more about it on FURNITURE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY (FDT).

Missel’s works reflect his past experiences of collecting and selling scrap materials to fund his early sculptures. This background influenced his approach to finding beauty in overlooked objects. His sculptures are created by layering pigmented silicone on bales of cardboard, forming thin shells that, when peeled off and inverted, reveal a negative space that captures the texture and form of the original objects.

Inspired by French-American painter Marcel Duchamp, Missel’s Infrathin pieces feature colourful, hatch-pattern cube seating made from memory foam and silicone. The grayscale versions highlight the concept of negative space. For Missel, objects like compressed cardboard bales act as narratives of human existence, with each piece telling a story of everyday life and memories. In addition to his silicone works, Missel’s Alumation pieces include chairs and stools crafted from deconstructed and reconstructed car radiator aluminium, showcasing twisted forms and hatch pattern details. His REM pieces, named after the rapid eye movement sleep state, are made from mattress egg crates contorted and solidified with resin, painted in vibrant hues of orange and purple.

Image credit: Wexler Gallery