Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: 32
Occupation: Artist.
Instagram: @chriswolston
Hometown: Providence, Rhode Island.
Studio location: Medellin, Colombia, and New York City.
Describe what you make: Sculptural furniture that I hope brings joy and humor into people’s lives.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: Right now, I’m showing four Nalgona Chairs with The Future Perfect at Design Miami. The chairs are woven of 100 percent Colombian Mimbre (Wicker) harvested in the Colombian Amazon. They evolved from the body forms in my sand-cast aluminum Orgy tables. I was interested in creating a new collection of work that feels both inviting and intimate, playful and warm.
Describe the problem your work solves: As an artist, I feel that my role isn’t to solve problems but to explore and apply materials in new ways that can inspire people to raise their own questions and excite curiosity.
Describe the project you are working on now: I’m working on integrating new material practices within traditional Colombian craft to create totally new sculptural forms. Colombia has a very diverse culture of regionally specific arts and crafts traditions. Working in Medellin has allowed me to collaborate with the local artisans using local materials. I’m really interested in branching out to other parts of the country to find inspiration from new materials and techniques.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: After the success of the rattan collection, I’m launching a series of new sofas that are like Dalí hands walking through space.
What you absolutely must have in your studio: My garden right outside and a pair of Crocs.
What you do when you’re not working: Gardening and collecting plants and flowers.
Sources of creative envy: Hank Murta Adams, Isamu Noguchi, and Jorge Alonso Zapata.
The distraction you want to eliminate: My inbox.
Concrete or marble? Concrete.
High-rise or townhouse? Country house?
Remember or forget? Remember.
Aliens or ghosts? Aliens.
Dark or light? Light!
