Modern Dining Bench in concrete and wood by Nico Yektai

Nico Yektai has developed a distinctive approach to designing and making furniture. The essence of his style is that each component within a piece of furniture becomes the decoration. The components are pushed, pulled and faceted as the composition comes to life in the moment. This process is similar to the way a painter builds up a canvas one brush stroke at a time. It is not a surprise that he grew up in a house with Manoucher Yektai, a painter from the New York School, who painted with gestural pallet knife strokes. Scale models begin the process when he is designing a new piece or modifying an existing one for a client. Working in three dimensions at scale allows him to compose as if it were the real thing. An added bonus is that he uses photographs of those scale models as a means of communicating his intentions with the new piece. Clients find this very helpful. Yektai began working with cast concrete when he decided that he wanted to make a series of outdoor benches. A new material demanded a new vocabulary. He has developed a system for casting that allows tremendous flexibility. He is able to capture the same spontaneity in his concrete work that is characteristic of his wood work. The combination of materials was so engaging that he now includes cast concrete in many of his interior pieces. Nico Yektai opened the doors to his studio in 1995 in Sag Harbor Ny in the heart of the Hamptons.