Reynold Rodriguez is Expressing Mindful Moments Through Furniture

While many of us spend our days focusing on coming up with a great idea, designer Reynold Rodriguez actually finds the moment that occurs right before a big thought arrives the most inspiring. For a new body of work debuting at Charles Burnand Gallery in London, he has looked at the emotions that come alongside ideation and has translated them into handmade pieces of furniture that take on characterful forms.

Named “Before the Fantastic”, the collection is the result of two years worth of research and creation. It has seen the designer use his skills in hand-carving to create lighting and furniture that makes use of salvaged wood. Combined with plaster, each piece is a lesson in tactility. Some are simple, almost rudimentary, in their finished form, while others take on an anthropomorphic silhouette.

“Prior to every storm there is a moment of clarity and quiet space, the pre-cursor to the dutiful chaos that will ensue, a moment where procedural development begins; it is this nexus that is ‘Before the Fantastic…’,” says the designer, who graduated with a degree in industrial design degree from the Rhode Island School of Design. “The distinctive, highly characterized works of Reynold Rodriguez combine endless wit and drama,” adds Charles Burnand Gallery owner, Simon Stewart. “This, fused with an innate understanding of materiality, forms which are often exaggerated, and a strong narrative makes for unique highly desirable and collectible pieces.”

Before the Fantastic opened at Charles Burnand Gallery today and runs until January 13, 2023. Take a look at some of the pieces above, and for more design, check out Marc Newson’s latest works on show at Gagosian Athens.

Charles Burnand Gallery
27 Whitfield Street
London W1T 2SE