Joseph Algieri

Artist-designer Joseph Algieri grew up in New Jersey and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York. After completing a bachelors degree in Industrial Design from the highly regarded Pratt Institute, he worked as a store planner for a major department store. In 2016 he abruptly quit his job and moved into a sublet of a friends studio to create his playful pieces that are bound to put a smile on your face.

Joseph uses expandable foam and clay to create joyful lamps, planters and sculptures. He loves to play with and explore materials to 'try to get them to do things they weren't intended to do'. Clay is a favourite medium to use, because of its elasticity.

Repetition, food and food photography also inspire Joseph; the way that drips and pouring of liquids are captured in photography. The idea of time frozen is something that Joseph replicates in his foam works, telling us 'all that motion and being able to show that as a still has always been interesting to me.'

As well as being inspired by repetition, food and food photography, Joseph loves to compile ideas and images that he snaps on the street. He enjoys drawing out his ideas to get a rough sense of what he wants, and will always have his plans mapped out to a certain degree. His images and drawings are archived and will often be referred to at a later date.

In terms of artists who inspire him, Joseph told us that he admires the work of Tobias Wong, Gae Aulenti, Joe Colombo, Osma Harvilahti, Zbigniew Rybczynski, and Igno Maurer, along with a slew of photographers such as Osma Harvilahti and Brett Lloyd.

Joseph has created the perfect environment to facilitate his work from his studio in Bushwick. The space allows him to expand when necessary, to work on larger pieces; or alternatively to work on a smaller scale when it suits the work he's creating. This flexibility, along with plenty of level surfaces are essential to Joseph to get his work done.

Joseph works with everyone from large interior designers to people who have reached out to him via Instagram. He finds Instagram an invaluable tool that has allowed him to connect to so many different people who're intrigued about what he does.

A selection of Joseph's work can also be purchased on 1stDibs, as well as Fredericks and Mae in Brooklyn.