Mario Lopez Torres Furniture
In the mountains of Mexico, furniture designer and master weaver Mario Lopez Torres works with locally sourced organic materials to painstakingly craft complex and elegant decorative objects, tables and seating.
Originally from Mexico City, Torres apprenticed for his father, who was a professional photographer, and at 13 years old enrolled in a school for the fine arts, as he had by then become deeply interested in illustration and working with clay. At 20, Torres pursued a dream of designing furniture — specifically, weaving. He traveled to Altepexi, a municipality in Puebla, to learn how its artisans wove works from a wooden vegetable reed that is native to the region.
Torres sought mentorship from the prevalent artists Ana Pellicer and James Metcalf in order to learn how to work with metal, as he would need to create frames of brass and copper that supported his woven structures. Torres traveled to the United States to purchase metalworking equipment and went on to establish his own workshop in a small mountain village back in Mexico.
Torres put his hands and imagination to work — he harvested courses of chuspata, which is a reed that grows abundantly on the shores of Lake Pátzcuaro in Michoacán, and welded frames that the reed is woven around. He sold his first piece of furniture in 1974.
Today, Torres creates works that are characterized by his affinity for nature. His palm floor lamps feature woven rattan — a light and versatile material that can mingle with a wide range of styles — while the lifelike monkeys, birds and other animals that support his tables, table lamps or adorn his mirror frames are crafted from chuspata and take on whimsical poses. They create a playful, provocative presence in any space.
Find Mario Lopez Torres seating, lighting and decorative objects on 1stDibs.
Mid-20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mario Lopez Torres Furniture
Metal
Mid-20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mario Lopez Torres Furniture
Metal
1990s Mid-Century Modern Mario Lopez Torres Furniture
Plastic
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Mario Lopez Torres Furniture
Metal
Mid-20th Century German Art Deco Mario Lopez Torres Furniture
Metal
2010s French Mid-Century Modern Mario Lopez Torres Furniture
Bamboo
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Organic Modern Mario Lopez Torres Furniture
Reed
1970s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Vintage Mario Lopez Torres Furniture
Brass
Early 20th Century American Industrial Mario Lopez Torres Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary French Mid-Century Modern Mario Lopez Torres Furniture
Bamboo, Rattan
1920s Austrian Folk Art Vintage Mario Lopez Torres Furniture
Bentwood
Mid-20th Century German Art Deco Mario Lopez Torres Furniture
Metal
1980s Unknown Modern Vintage Mario Lopez Torres Furniture
Plastic
1980s Unknown Hollywood Regency Vintage Mario Lopez Torres Furniture
Reed
Mid-20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Mario Lopez Torres Furniture
Metal
1970s Mexican Modern Vintage Mario Lopez Torres Furniture
Wicker
20th Century Mexican Folk Art Mario Lopez Torres Furniture
Copper, Steel
1970s Mexican Modern Vintage Mario Lopez Torres Furniture
Copper, Iron