Image via Complex Original
Snarkitecture was formally created in 2008 by architectural masterminds and friends Daniel Arsham and Alex Mustonen. Often working within existing structures, the Brooklyn-based architecture firm works to confront viewers with what they know and make it entirely new. Take Why Patterns, for example, where the duo takes something as straightforward as a table tennis ball and creates a spectacular performance alongside Jonah Bokaer's choreographed dancers. Even Snarkitecture's furniture plays with our ideas of a traditional table or lamp.
For New York Fashion Week, Snarkitecture collaborated with En Noir on their SS '14 stage design. Tomorrow, the architectural firm is having an opening for their collaboration with Chromeo called The White Room. We can't wait to see what else Snarkitecture has on deck for this fall, and we're awaiting an announcement for what they might be doing at Art Basel Miami. Get to know the architects that will soon be on everyone's radar with The Art Evolution of Snarkitecture.
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Optical Illusions
Notable Works: Slip Bench (2010), Lean (2012), Slice (2013)
Much of Snarkitecture's creations play with the concept of the optical illusion. From their seemingly broken yet functional furniture to their architectural experiments with light, material, and space, the collaborative practice designs pieces that compel viewers to stop in their tracks.
Take Lean for example, which consists of one stable floor lamp fixed to another that looks as if it is falling. Then there's Slice, an all-black tennis table that looks like it is supported by a heavy mass. But if the viewer shifts his perspective, he'll see that the "legs" are composed of thin, solid sheets made from flexible EPDM rubber and Richlite.
Excavation
Notable Works: Slab Table (2010), Dig (2011), Shelve (2012), Wasserman Table (2012)
Beginning in 2010, Snarkitecture made pieces like Slab Table, which from above appears to be a smooth, modern form but has been craftily carved down below to form an inverted landscape—simple but genius.
In 2011, Snarkitecture exhibited and performed Dig, perhaps the duo's largest excavation project yet. Working within an already-existing space, Snarkitecture filled the storefront for Art and Architecture with a solid block of EPS architectural foam. Armed with basic tools like hammers, picks, and chisels, Snarkitecture burrowed through the foam wall, transforming the unassuming volume of foam into a work of performance and sculptural art.
Snarkitecture and Richard Chai Collaboration
Notable Works: Richard Chai (2010)
In 2010, Snarkitecture teamed up with designer Richard Chai to create a pop-up retail store as part of BOFFO's Building Fashion series at HL23. Working from within the interior of a structure below the High Line, Snarkitecture transformed the space into a glacial cavern. Snarkitecture again employed hand-carved volumes of EPS architectural foam to create what felt like a cavernous monolithic environment in which Chai could display his collection.
Collaboration with Jonah Bokaer
Notable Works: Why Patterns (2010-2012)
Why Patterns demonstrates Snarkitecture's talent for taking an everyday object like a table tennis ball and turning it into something monumental. Snarkitecture collaborated with choreographer Jonah Bokaer to create a spectacular performance. In Why Patterns, table tennis balls drop from the ceiling amid dancers. The falling balls initiate and dictate the dancers' movements. Eventually the stage is flooded by the white balls, which are illuminated by the stage lights. Click here to watch the stunning video on Snarkitecture's website.
Cascades
Notable Works: Fountain/Fall (2010), Curtain (2010), Why Patterns (2010-2012), MADE (2013)
Evident from Why Patterns, Snarkitecture often incorporates a cascading design into its projects and creations. Fountain/Fall, a concept Snarkitecture came up with in 2010, seems to echo Why Patterns. Both works include thousands of balls plummeting from above. For Snarkitecture's latest project MADE, the duo swapped table tennis balls for hundreds of lightweight, recycled freezer bins. The bins drop from the ceiling, dangling above visitors to MADE in Sao Paulo. The openings and interior spaces of the bins alter the space, creating a coffered ceiling.
Experiments with Positive/Negative Space
Notable Works: Excavated Mirror (2010), Trunk (2013), Pillow (2013)
Snarkitecture often works within pre-existing structures, playing around with positive and negative space. They even create pieces that perfectly—and literally—mirror one another. Case in point: Excavated Mirror, a work that seems to both recede into and project out of the wall at the same time. Also, Pillow retains the impression of your phone after you've removed it.
Beacons
Notable Works: Beacons (2012)
Now you see them; now you don't. To create Beacons, Snarkitecture took a simple concept of illuminating and dimming lights to create something epic, able to be seen from great distances throughout the city. LED lights fade up and down the four columns of Marlins Ballpark, as if the structures are breathing. The changing lights, which can be seen from far away, act as beacons for visitors to the ballpark, hence the name.
Retail Installations and Repetition
Notable Works: Richard Chai x Palladium (2012), Odin Fragrances (2012)
Repetition is another common theme in many of Snarkitecture's creations, apparent in the retail installation they did for Odin New York. The installation merged Odin's fragrances with the surrounding architecture so that the entire store resembled a museum. The main design was a waterfall of bottles, which streamed from the ceiling at the front window to the floor near the back wall. Then there was Snarkitecture's second collab with Richard Chai. For Richard Chai x Palladium, the team lined the walls and ceilings of an exhibition space with mirrors to create the illusion of shoes on shoes on shoes.
Seemingly Broken
Notable Works: Float (2012), Split (2012), Broken Ornament (2012), Pour (2012), Break (2012)
Snarkitecture has an obsession with breaking things, or so it seems. In 2012, the duo constructed Break, a cabinet with a split down the middle. Though Break looks like it may fall apart at any moment, it actually sits upon silicone feet and works perfectly. Then there's Pour, a traditional bench Snarkitecture re-imagined, taking a bent frame and filling the seat with white marble to restore its functionality. Broken is beautiful.
Design Miami/2012
Years: 2012
Notable Works: Drift (2012), Bend (2012)
Drift and Bend were created for the courtyard entrance of Design Miami/2012. Snarkitecture grouped together inflated tubes and suspended them from above to create an inverted landscape. To go along with Drift, a ceiling design, Snarkitecture created Bend, padded foam tubes which bend and twist to make customizable seats.
Repurposing for Miami
Notable Works: A Memorial Bowling (2012)
Snarkitecture seems to be a fan of Miami. In addition to the designs the duo did for Design Miami/2012 and Beacons, they also repurposed structures from the site of the former Orange Bowl in 2012. Snarkitecture took the 10-foot concrete letters from the old Orange Bowl sign and arranged them throughout the new ballpark so that the letters spell out different words depending on the viewer's perspective.
Lift for New Museum's Spring Gala
Notable Works: Lift (2013)
Sparkitecture also worked on an installation for New Museum's 2013 spring gala. Just like with Drift, Snarkitecture created a floating landscape comprised of large spheres that dangled from the ceiling. The coolest part about Lift is that each of the 45 orbs was controlled by an individual performer so the spheres' positions changed throughout the night.
Collaboration with En Noir
Notable Works: En Noir (2013)
En Noir launched their Spring/Summer 2014 "Coal Wasteland" presentation at Milk Studios with a spectacle of "Fashion Theater" that mixed art, dance, and fashion. En Noir's creative director Jason Wolter called upon Snarkitecture to design the incredible mountain stage design for the show. The apocalyptic landscape was made out of a custom composite material that performers climbed atop and models walked around. The result was an immersive, collaborative art experience.
Chromeo and Snarkitecture at Milk Studios Gallery
Next Tuesday, Chromeo and Snarkitecture will descend on Milk Studios Gallery for a "massive installation on display for one night only," for a show called The White Room. We can't wait to see what this collaboration will bring.