The line, called Nudo, features 22 mind-bending pieces of curved marble works
Los Angeles-based designer Kelly Wearstler, known for her vibrant, architectural and multi-layered design approach, made her debut at Art Miami, Design Miami and Art Basel Miami last December with a one-of-a-kind collection centred around marble.
The designer, who is known for her marble pieces, collaborated with Arca, a Mexico City–based global purveyor of the world’s most exclusive stone, tiles and wood. Her collection, Nudo, features 22 sculptural marble works—specifically 16 pieces of furniture and six accessory pieces—that utilise the rock’s beauty in unexpected ways. Before the event, several pieces got stuck in customs. Luckily Robb Report had an exclusive look at these never-before-seen items that didn’t arrive in time for the show.
“It was a new setting for me altogether with it being my first Design Miami and Art Basel presentation,” Wearstler tells Robb Report. “I was so excited to partner with Arca in particular because I was able to use their incredible bank of resources—access to stunning marble, master craftsmen and innovative carving techniques—to open up an entirely new point of view on stone through sinuous forms and knot motifs.”
The Nudo collection was inspired by the ancient craft of weaving, and Wearstler transforms the solid and hard material of marble into soft shapes and curves. The underlying theme was ‘unity,’ inspired by the world’s polarised political views and current affairs. With the help of Arca’s state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques and handcrafted expertise, the furniture pieces seen in the Nudo collection feature circular and linear silhouettes, curvy chairs, voluptuous stools and sculptural consoles.
Each piece was sculpted out of a solid block and seems to defy gravity with sinuous shapes. The designer also worked closely with Arca’s team to source unique and rare stones, including Calcite Blue and Roja Alicante. This isn’t Wearstler’s first encounter with Arca; she often sources unique materials from the supplier for her projects.
“There are two chairs that I absolutely adore: the Nudo Chair in a luscious green marble and the Nudo Interlocking Chair in this warm Rainbow Onyx marble,” Wearstler says of some pieces that didn’t make it in time for the show. “I love the way the stone interlocks in those pieces. There is also the Nudo Side Table and Nudo Stool that we’ve since debuted.”
A few of her favourite pieces from the collection include the Low Chair and Ottoman.
“The way they twist and braid clearly illustrate my intentions behind this collection, which is finding interconnectedness through the construction of intricate knots in stone,” she says.
