Damian Jones, Mirror Top Console, USA

Todd Merrill Studio began representing Welsh artist Damian Jones in 2018. Jones creates hand-made, metal clad furniture out of his Los Angeles studio. Creating a constantly evolving visual language that is both unprecedented and familiar, his remarkable works are instantly recognizable for robust forms clad in an armor of detailed metal scales giving a Viking meets Ottoman Romanticism that evokes “Game of Thrones” commentary.

He is inspired by the aesthetic movement’s “beauty for the sake of beauty” yet his highly ornamented metal work is strikingly clean, subdued and always highly functional. Using bold forms vaguely informed by influences such as Carlo Bugatti, the Italian Art Nouveau designer to East African tribal art and architecture, Jones’ work is everything that today’s market of mass-produced, sleek design is not – unparalleled in quality and original. Jones creates rich textures by combining exotic woods with hand-cut bronze“tiles,” which are individually laid to create beautifully faceted patterns. While Jones does work from sketches, the pattern work that defines his designs is largely spontaneous, evolving as the works take form, allowing the form and process to guide the finished piece. It is this spontaneity that gives each individual work its own distinct character. Always present is the work of the artist’s hand. Jones favors a reverence for authenticity more than machined flawlessness, embracing subtle asymmetry and anomalies.

While Jones’ designs are sometimes rooted in traditional furniture designs his approach is distinctly contemporary, resulting in works that are inventive, elegant, and timeless.