April 5, 2020The Roman god Janus had two faces, which let him cover more ground, looking to the past and the future at once.
The inventive New York–based design duo of Christian Lopez Swafford and Lauren Larson have two separate lines, one artsy and one practical, for similar reasons: It gives them the ability to tackle almost any need, and it’s more fun to stretch themselves by making a variety of objects.
Like New York artists of yore, Christian Lopez Swafford and Lauren Larson (top) live and create in a Soho loft to make pieces for their two lines, Material Lust and Orphan Work. Shown above are (from left) Material Lust’s ML19003 shelves (2019), Opioid Painting I (2017), ML190010 floor lamp (2019), ML190012 sculpture (2019) and Crepuscle floor lamp (2015). Styling by Cindy DiPrima of EH Management
Their most expressive pieces fall under their Material Lust banner. These tend to be works that surf the line between art and design, best epitomized by the ML190011 coffee table, whose top and 12 legs are covered in sweatshirts emblazoned with POLICE — provocative and fun, though perhaps not for everyone.
The artists’ bedroom is furnished with their own creations, including the special-edition Vanishing Twin chair (2018), ML190018 vase (2020) and ML190013 wall sculpture (2019).
In the couple’s closet is a Material Lust Retort vanity that Larson uses to hold her cosmetics.
The Orphan Work brand comprises their more sensible items, including a chic rectangular alabaster sconce that, like all their work, has become catnip for decorators and architects like Jamie Drake, Annabelle Selldorf and Kelly Wearstler. As Swafford puts it, “The heavy hitters are starting to find us.”
Swafford, 38, and Larson, 33, are romantic as well as business partners. They live and create in a Soho loft that recalls the downtown pads of the New York art pioneers of the 1970s, bookshelves loosely cordoning off a bed toward the back of the long space.
With its oversized windows, white walls and a shiny wood floor littered with projects in various stages of completion, it has the feeling of a productive but livable laboratory. That fusion of life and work mirrors the duality of their two-pronged business. They launched it in 2013, and these days 1stdibs is the primary selling platform for both lines.
“Lauren was doing interior design for Victoria Hagan, and I was doing product design for Bill Sofield,” says Swafford, describing their previous careers. They both attended the Parsons School of Design, where they met.
In the center of this workspace is one of Material Lust’s famed ML190011 coffee tables (2019); on the far left is an Orphan Work Contemporary 101C side table in oak (2019).
Swafford grew up in Washington, D.C., and Mexico; Larson is from Oregon. “We both had moms who were painters,” says Swafford, adding that despite their maternal fine-art influence, “I think we both knew we would go into design to make a living.”
Material Lust’s distinctive name has a somewhat ironic backstory. “My brother and I had a band in high school, and that was one of the songs. It was anti-consumerist,” says Swafford. “Now we’re selling stuff.” He laughs and adds, “It’s the American way, is it not? I mean, we are creatives who are actually paying our own bills.”
Sketches of Material Lust’s ML19001 chair (2019) and ML19002 bench (2019) are taped to the wall. The finished pieces are covered in removable latex sheathes.
The Material Lust line features an item called ML19002 that could be described as a bench or a cocktail table. It’s crafted from steel and wood, shapely and well made but not terribly out of the ordinary. What gives it the signature Material Lust frisson is that it has a separate cover of perfectly stretched latex. Swafford and Larson refer to applying and removing this as “performing” the piece.
When the cover is on, the ML19002 can’t really be used and might more properly be considered an artwork. Explains Swafford, “We’ve been finding that it’s a lot to sell a client a piece of sculpture and say, ‘Don’t ever use this.’ They want to know it can be touched and interacted with, so when people come here, we show them how.”
Told that it somewhat resembles a huge condom, Swafford says, smiling, “It’s supposed to.”
A demo wall of Orphan Work sconces
References to the body seem to populate the Material Lust line — the Crepuscule floor lamp, for example, looks like a giant eyeball on tripod legs. So it’s no surprise that the late, great artist Louise Bourgeois, who plumbed psychologically complex and personal themes, is an inspiration for the pair. They also look to Bourgeois, who died in 2010 at the age of 98 after six decades of artistic creativity, for guidance on career longevity. “We don’t want to be the flavor of the month,” Larson says. “We’re in it for the long haul.”
In the living room are a special-edition Grotesque Crepuscle floor lamp (2017) and a Twin Peak sofa (2016).
Larson and Swafford showed pieces from Material Lust at the Independent art fair in New York last year, which marked how far they are pushing their work toward the category of fine art. Unlike many designers occupying that borderland, though, they generally don’t make multiple editions of their pieces.
The ML190011 table, with its POLICE-printed sweatshirts, has become something of a signature for the duo. It was inspired by the hoodies being sold on Canal Street not far from their loft. “We tried to make this thing anxiety inducing,” says Larson. “The Material Lust line allows us to explore the uncomfortable, critical or darker side of things. We’ve been using the word ominous.”
The Contemporary 102 dining table (2019), a beautiful slab of oak on two dowel-like legs, epitomizes the simplicity of Orphan Work’s aesthetic. “Our slogan for the brand is ‘design to complement,’ because we don’t want it to be a statement,” says Larson. “We want it to be a really timeless piece that grounds the room.”
Swafford describes Orphan Work as “about form, construction and quality.” On the other hand, says Larson, the “Material Lust line allows us to explore the uncomfortable, critical or darker side of things.”
Their time working for major design firms tutored them on the delicate politics of decor. “We found that the big interior designers and architects don’t want to put anything in their rooms that screams somebody else’s design,” Swafford says. “It’s not about our personalities, it’s not about us. It’s about form, construction and quality.”
To counteract those firms’ wariness, Orphan Work produces what Larson calls “the things that we know everyone will always be spec-ing,” like the alabaster sconce. “We can’t even keep that in stock, because it’s just like the simplest thing.” The line so far contains around 180 items, although no chairs. “We’re trying to do a perfect one, and it’s really hard,” she explains.
Left: Material Lust’s ML19003 shelves stacked in front of stretch canvases. Right: The ML190012 resin-encased sneaker sculpture keeps company with other objects on the studio floor.
A good example of Orphan Work’s more understated design is its 2018 brass vase, which is among the line’s least expensive items offered on 1stdibs. It has a curvy Bauhausian quality to it, a distinctive shape but one that doesn’t call attention to itself.
To make their lighting fixtures, Larson and Swafford look to Italy, because of its centuries-old tradition of craftsmanship. But they stick with New York and environs to manufacture the rest of the pieces. “With the furniture, we wanted to do it more locally, so we could really keep our eye on it and be able to customize it,” says Swafford.
Adorning the windowsill are Material Lust brochures alongside other ephemera.
The current coronavirus crisis, of course, poses challenges for everyone. But the pair has stayed put and stayed working, even as New York City became the epicenter of the outbreak. “We decided not to leave Soho. We’ve been in New York almost twenty years and stand by it,” says Swafford. “Even now, you are constantly surrounded by the creative energy of the people, fashion, food and industry.”
The situation, Larson adds, shows “how tightly intertwined the art and design community is. We are all reliant on each other to succeed. Clients, interior designers, artisans, shippers, art handlers are all invaluable pieces of the puzzle. Without one, the whole thing collapses.”
