Both detailed and minimalist, the Brooklyn-based sculptor and designer’s works feature a unique material palette: sand, salt, cement and glass.
Be it his collectible design, large-scale sculptures or experiential installations, Fernando’s work is deeply rooted in his concerns for ecological issues and a mission to redefine contemporary design by focusing on material exploration to establish how design can help continue the life-cycle of discarded materials.
“I am trying to present something conceptual with furniture,” he says the designer who founded his studio, in 2006. “That’s maybe more radical than doing so in art.” Featured in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum and the Cooper Hewitt Museum, his work blurs the lines between function and art. Throughout out his work, Fernando maintains an essential core: Form + Content + Materials.
Having mastered the technique of binding salt and other granulated substances like quartz crystals, silica, and cement with resin and using the mixture to make furniture, there is an immediately recognizable quality to his beautiful and complex sculptural objects of art and design.
Irregular, distressed even, his collections have earned him a spot in prestigious international exhibitions such as the Mike Weiss Gallery, the Neuberger Museum and Rossana Orlandi’s gallery in Milan. He has also created commissioned pieces for international luxury brands such Stella McCartney and Dior.
In 2017, Fernando founded ‘In Good Company’, a non-profit that honours creativity and the spirit of the avant-garde by providing a platform for emerging artists and designers to exhibit work without commercial or creative constraints.
Earlier this year, Fernando responded to a client brief by creating a lounge using materials sourced from their land in the Swiss Mountains. In New York, he presented Tiny House, an interactive and sensory immersion showcased within in a 176-square-foot home built from recycled glass, sand and Ombré plastic.
For his debut in the Middle East, Fernando has once again turned to his muse, nature. Designed specifically for the show, he will present a new collection of mirrors inspired by the geography and landscape of Dubai.
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