The unfolding of designer Justin Wesley's renaissance

"There's a curvature to Justin Wesley's furniture that feels organically sensual. In his first collection, Renaissance, debuted in New York this past October, Justin builds a visual language grounded in rich, warm cocoa-stained birch juxtaposed in places with steely, matted aluminum to create intentionally straightforward forms. But ingenuity lies in the striking way that each of his pieces commands the use of curves and angles together to build an arresting, refined perspective."

"'All I heard was, 'you just have to sketch your ideas out and have them made? Oh that's easy!', he said, reflecting on his initial naivete upon entering the field. 'Now, it's not that easy. But I could always draw as a kid. I hadn't drawn in a long time but as I started sketching, it all started to come back to me.'"

Justin Wesley creates furniture characterized by organic curvature and a sensual visual language. His first collection, Renaissance, debuted in New York in October and uses warm cocoa-stained birch juxtaposed with steely, matted aluminum to form intentionally straightforward pieces. His work emphasizes the interplay of curves and angles to achieve arresting, refined perspectives. Wesley lacks formal design training and achieved initial gallery representation through sketches alone. A background as a college basketball player preceded a turning-point in his junior year that redirected him toward fashion and then furniture. A 2022 gallery challenge to draw 100 pieces produced 130 ideas and led to the console Knuckles.

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