Gufram x Snarkitecture to unveil five hand-sculpted pieces at Milan Design Week 2023

Domestic furniture may often be viewed through the lens of functionality and pragmatism—perceived as an entity that caters to needs as opposed to creative expression. Furniture designers in contemporary times look to redefine these constraints, yielding a body of work that straddles functional design and sculptural art. What do artistic solutions for holistic living look like? On the occasion of the upcoming edition of Milan Design Week 2023, Gufram and long-standing collaborator Snarkitecture, the New York-based design practice founded by Daniel Arsham and Alex Mustonen, are proud to present the Sculpted Series, Gufram’s artistic solution for a total living.

Radical and monumental, the new Sculpted Series is a family of five domestic sculptures available only in black or white including a bookshelf, a bar cabinet, an armchair, a coffee table and low table. “For the Sculpted Series, we wanted to create objects that people can live and work with, a range of different programs and purposes. The pieces appear solid, in the process of being unearthed, yet reveal themselves as soft forms—a playful surprise in your daily life," say Daniel Arsham and Alex Mustonen, founders of Snarkitecture. The Sculpted Series will debut with a site specific installation at Capsule Plaza within Spazio Maiocchi from April 17 to 23, 2023.

Founded in Turin in 1966, Gufram is now globally renowned for transcending the boundaries of industrial design. With its radical design spirit and its nonconformist experimentation with respect to aesthetics, and technological and material research, the Italian brand has created playful, subversive and desecrating pieces. Snarkitecture, a New York-based design practice is committed to reimagining the familiar. Their primary focus remains achieving a sensory experience, working across scales and typologies, including retail, hospitality, residential, collectable design, and object collaborations. The first encounter between the Italian brand and the American design practice can be traced back to 2016 when their first collaboration, the Broken Mirror, was unveiled. The Broken Series, an expansion of the original partnership launched in 2017, is characterised by forms and shapes that are both familiar and strange—an architectural fragment that reflects the shared sensibilities of Gufram and Snarkitecture.

"We love collaborating with Gufram. Their approach, craft, and sensibility make Gufram feel like a distant and much-loved relative of Snarkitecture,” share Arsham and Mustonen. Akin to all sculptures, each furniture design from the Sculpted Series is made by hand by Gufram’s trained artisans starting from a block of polyurethane foam to achieve the concrete-looking texture. The sculpted pieces are then coated with Guflac® Ultra, the contemporary evolution of Guflac®, the special paint invented by Gufram over 50 years ago, which makes each piece incredibly durable and weather-resistant. Guflac® Ultra is applied entirely by hand, enabling the polyurethane to maintain its elasticity and softness, opening the conversation to new aesthetic experimentations.

During the anticipated design event, Snarkitecture reiterates its ethos of ‘not art, not architecture’ and a methodology that challenges conventional approaches to materials and structures. Thriving on creating environments and moments that invite people to explore, play, and reflect, their alliance with Italian brand Gufram rests on the foundation of a congruous vision—providing an opportunity to the viewers to immerse themselves in a space where familiarity and eccentricity collide.

STIR’s coverage of Milan Design Week 2023 showcases the best exhibitions, studios, designers, installations, brands, and special projects to look out for. Explore Euroluce 2023 and all the design districts—5Vie Art and Design, Brera Design District, Fuorisalone, Isola Design District, Tortona District, and Milano Design District—with us.