Designer Andrea Branzi’s First U.S. Exhibit

It’s difficult to believe Andrea Branzi hasn’t exhibited in American galleries until the striking show now on view through October 13 at New York’s

Friedman Benda

gallery.

Born in Florence in 1938, Branzi co-founded both

Archizoom

, the experimental studio responsible for the fabulous No-Stop-City, and the

Domus Academy

, the first international post-graduate school for design.

A central member of

Studio Alchimia

and the now-defunct Memphis Group, Branzi’s designs have found their way into major collections around the world.

And, at last, a New York gallery.

Branzi’s “Trees & Stones” is comprised of a new work—Stones—and a selection of works from his Trees series, in which minimalist grids of metal and mirror are penetrated by thick limbs of birch.

The marriage of the natural and man-made feels effortless, though closer inspection reveals Branzi’s thoughtful precision, particularly in Stones, where hunks of the titular medium are displayed like masterpieces on metal platforms.

One can keep one’s own masterpieces in this furniture, of course; a collection can grow in the bookcases even if the birch no longer will.

With any luck, Branzi’s exposure in the US will grow, too.