January 3, 2023

Words: Athena Waligore

A Closer Look at an Imaginative, Multi-Use Piece by Virgil Abloh and Cassina

The multidisciplinary work of Illinois-born fashion designer and cultural force Virgil Abloh is currently on view at the Brooklyn Museum, after the groundbreaking exhibition premiered at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Not on display, however, is his collaboration with Cassina, Modular Imagination.

Abloh, who earned a master’s degree in architecture, completed the object just before his untimely death last year. Whether used as a bench, a pouf, a table, or something else, the unit—upholstered in painted elastomer-coated polyurethane—can function to connect and unite a room. Dubbed a “building block” by the late designer, Modular Imagination is stackable via connecting pegs (in jaunty orange powder-coat). The 18-inch-tall block is available in two lengths: 18 or 30½ inches. Bas reliefs on each surface spell out Cassina-Abloh.

Modular Imagination by Cassina and Virgil Abloh, a multi-use piece of furniture coated in black with circular cutouts
Modular Imagination. Photography by Luca Merli.
a living area with yellow couches, blue chairs, and the Modular Imagination cube by Virgil Abloh and Cassina.
Photography by Valentina Sommmariva.

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