Morphologica, Misha Kahn

Morphologica challenges the established boundaries of production, disregarding the binary of form and function, and looking beyond the fixed paradigms of what’s organic or what’s rationalist, to craft objects of seemingly impossible architecture.
Morphologica is, first, a project that applies the logic of architecture and engineering to natural forms, seeking to isolate their intrinsic structure; then, it is an idea, sculpted in irregular volumes, evoked by the colour palette and bonded between foam and fabric; finally, it is the story of the encounter of akin sensibilities: Misha Kahn and Meritalia®. The American artist offers his visceral response to Meritalia®’s poetics, adding to its roster of designs a contemporary take on what makes art and design radical today.

The Morphologica armchair and sofa are made of an assemblage of modules – 12 for the sofa and 8 for the armchair – of sculpted polyurethane foam upholstered with fabric. The colour possibilities are endless, matches the multifariousness of the new Meritalia®’s pop-modernity. A solid metal structure allows for the roller coasters of foam to swirl, enmesh and expand, resulting in an experimental, sexy more than playful, and almost ‘shocking couch’, as Kahn himself defined it. In its inherent radical identity, Morphologica is a comment on the way we look at things, often en passant, and a call for engaging - rather physically - with the odd beauty of what is under the surface.