Djivan Schapira’s meteoric rise can be charted by the trajectory of his future-retro, high-glam home furnishings that beguile as they come into view with appearances at trade shows like Salon Art + Design, global forums for collectibles like Design Miami/, and showcases like those hosted by Bergdorf Goodman in collaboration with Todd Merrill Studio, who also represents the emerging designer. Each ogle-worthy iteration by the prodigious French-American maker uses lacquered marquetry to sculpt with light akin to an architect, building on a visual language seemingly out of this world.
As Schapira’s practice gains momentum with every mirror, table, and cabinet commissioned, so too does the exploration of his highly expressive material compositions predominantly exercised in resin. “It has been around for centuries, so the use of this particular material to project us into the future is fascinating, and a bit ironic,” says Laura Guido-Clark, the former Creative Director of Materials Innovation at Herman Miller and founder of Love Good Color.
Solar Sailor Divergent Mirror I
Solar Sailor Divergent Mirror II
Solar Sailor Divergent Mirror III
Beyond the physical formulations, his work is an amalgam of color, finish, opacity, shape, and inlay – each affecting the articulation, efficacy, and perception of the others. “Right now it’s really playing with subtly changing my production method,” says Schapira. “Because I think there’s still so much that can be done with this style and these materials.”
Solar Sailor Orbit Tables
Solar Sailor Orbit Occasional I and II End Tables
Solar Sailor Orbit Occasional I End Table
Solar Sailor Orbit Occasional II End Table
Celestial hues harken to retro product skins and colorways that conjure feelings of nostalgia. And the more muted tones avoid trying to pull focus, rather, they seek to assimilate themselves with an existing constellation of interior decor. Careful selection of color and adjustment to tint, shade, or tone is indicative of Schapira’s maturing sensibility. “That’s where my recent work has brought me. Instead of wanting to be loud and significant by using color, it’s more through form, through light play, and subtleties in different shades and tones.”
Solar Sailor Orbit Occasional XL I Dining Table
Change in opacity leans into the ethereal and imbues those pieces with a temporal quality as they catch light and cast shadows. Depending on where the transparency is placed, it can generate an under-glow for the base or optical flare on the ground, as do the Divergent and Orbit Occasional Tables from the Solar Sailor series, respectively. But this perception of time can shift to a suggestion of motion when tabletops become amorphous, as if molded by forward momentum, which is especially exaggerated in Divergent. Or perhaps it’s movement in place created by the apparent undulating slabs of the Les Fleurs Nenuphar Center Table. These shapes strike a balance between organic form and a refined edge to create approachable and familiar objects with parallels to neotenic design.
Solar Sailor Divergent Foyer Table and Divergent Low Table
Solar Sailor Divergent Foyer Table
Solar Sailor Divergent Low Table
Surface treatments enhance experience by activating the material composition to transform each object’s highly reflective sheen into a mirror or portal of sorts. “It conjures up this idea of seeing ourselves within it or having the opportunity to see into the future,” adds Guido-Clark. Detailing is articulated further through accents like bronze linework found throughout the Orbit Occasional Tables or cross-sections of botanical elements embedded within the resin of the Les Fleurs Tables to create a simple repeat pattern. Some of which are custom, exclusive display pieces for Peter Marino’s Louis Vuitton Flagship designs featured in select boutiques globally.
Les Fleurs Nenuphar Center Table
Schapira continues to explore uncharted territory with galactic ambition while tethered to high-end French decorative arts techniques, staying the course. “My approach now is seeing what subtleties can affect change in a piece without altering the production method. Being able to produce different types of pieces is what ends up fueling my research,” says the designer. “It’s primarily finding a way to produce aesthetically pleasing things with efficiency, slowly developing something different while keeping the same kind of production methods because I know those work.”
Solar Sailor Bar Candy Wall Cabinet
To see more of Djivan Schapira’s pieces visit djivanschapira.com or visit Todd Merrill Studio’s downtown Manhattan location.
Photography courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio.
