Virgil Abloh and his new street furniture collection

Virgil Abloh presented Efflorescence, a furniture collection for the Galerie Kreo design studio in Paris, focusing on the use of concrete and on the aesthetic expression of the street translated into contemporary art.

"Here, the legacy of brutalism, its forms and ideas, are literally perforated, extruded to act as a pedestal for the creative expression of the street," says Abloh.

The designer takes inspiration from brutalism and urban aesthetics, such as the zigzag edges of some works that evoke the beveled facade of a neo-brutalist building, as well as the use of cement - recurring in the post-war age of the end of the years 60.

The exhibition takes its name from efflorescence - property of some salts of losing crystallization water molecules, an extremely common drawback in many homes. - which the artist himself calls "floral bomb effect", in which the salt moves on the surface of a porous material to form a white coating. This coating is a common denominator for each work that appears to be coated with a light white patina.
The collection includes consoles, mirrors, ceramics, tables, chairs and vases adorned with neon colored graffiti, made by hand. The 20 pieces focus attention on concrete in its purest form, and question the way in which the material interacts in our natural and artificial environments.

Every single work has perfectly modeled cavities, creating a sense of planned chaos. The shapes are inspired by neo-brutalist architecture - rough, bursting but functional appearance. The circles on each piece are an anniversary of the designer, who in the spring summer 2019-20 collection proposed on clothes, jackets, trench coats and bags.