Chris Wolston was awarded a Fulbright grant to fine-tune his craft in Colombia—a move that strongly influenced his artistic trajectory. Now splitting time between studios in New York and Medellin, the furniture designer blends time-honored South American craftsmanship with his own brand of postmodern irreverence to mastermind highly detailed pieces that delight, confound, and always have us eagerly awaiting his next move. Enter “Temperature’s Rising,” his latest solo exhibition at Casa Perfect Los Angeles, in which he debuts a whimsical body of 21 works that mark an exciting new chapter in his practice.

Drawing on sources from the Andes Mountains to Spanish modernism, Wolston’s latest experiments expand on his personality-packed “Nalgona” series with ethically sourced Colombian wicker pieces that embrace the human form with wild enthusiasm. It also marks his first foray into metallurgy, with intricately patterned aluminum pieces welded together into complex puzzles that line cabinets and mirrors. “I’m fascinated by large-scale, gestural patterns that make up our world,” Wolston says. “The past year has thrown the beauty and fragility of our lives into sharp relief. ‘Temperature’s Rising’ celebrates the essential elements of our world and encourages you to think differently about the objects you see every day.” —Ryan Waddoups