The Cerf Bench’s muscular sculpted shape is cast in mirror-polished bronze. The bench’s seat is contoured to contrast the belly of the bench.
The designer’s work blends functional design with modernist sculptural references. A natural successor of innovative artists such as Richard Serra, Jean Arp, and Constantin Brancusi, the designer’s cast bronze, stainless steel, and carved wood works reflects the artist’s modernist and primitive influences. Beginning with a series of quick sketches, the designer captures the movement of a basic form. By sculpting in foam and wood he translates that movement into a structural model that is then 3D scanned so that it can then be cast in bronze, aluminum or steel, and finished with carved wood elements. His works often feature a mammalian physicality with heaving sinuous forms and legs that extend from the body in a bowed fashion.
Rejecting outright anthropomorphic mimicry in favor of subtle, sculpted muscular forms, he designer notes: “I try with each piece to create a stance and a presence, some with more contrapposto. I aim to give each piece a feeling it is inhaling or ready to make a move. I try to steer clear of the decorative, but rather to draw on mass.
Other prizes Sit and IDA award
