Design Miami 2022

Dreamroom is an immersive bedroom scene that takes a conceptual nod from the model homes of World’s Fairs past, imagining the bedroom of the near future. That world is one in which Dreamroom curator and Superhouse founder Stephen Markos believes people embrace bold color, wild form, and unconventional uses of material. A group of four gallery artists: Ellen Pong, Kim Mupangilaï, Ryan Decker, and Sean Gerstley, transformed archetypal bedroom furniture, like the platform bed, folding screen, nightstand, and even the white noise machine, into something new and unexpected.

Forming the core of the installation are new monumental works by Sean Gerstley. Working at a larger scale than he previously had, the artist used his iconic ceramic tile blocks to compose a six-foot tall freestanding armoire as well as a queen-size bed frame. Covering the bed is a cotton and silk quilt, patterned using the same tile blocks as reference, which Gerstley created in collaboration with textile designer Bea Walling.

Accompanying the bedroom set is a Lisa Frank-inspired sculpture-cum-nightstand of a dolphin riding a horse by Ellen Pong. The work, along with the designer’s full-length wall mirror, were finished in a color-shifting automotive paint, masking the ceramic from which they were sculpted. Additionally, Ryan Decker characteristically blends old and new techniques with a pair of blown glass and 3D-printed PLA sconces as well as a pair of birdhouse-inspired speakers, precision-crafted for optimum audio quality.

Teasing a solo presentation at Superhouse in Spring 2023, Kim Mupangilaï unveils a three-paneled carved teak and stone folding screen that pivots at four points. The resulting work can be positioned in a multitude of ways, giving a sense of play to the interactive work.

Ellen Pong
Originally from the West Coast, growing up in a suburb outside of Seattle, Ellen Pong now lives and works in Queens, New York. The designer graduated with a degree in Art History from the University of California, Berkeley. Pong’s self-taught practice blends sensorial observations from both the Pacific Northwest and the chaotic streets of New York City to create furniture, lighting, and objects with a studied playfulness. She has participated in group exhibitions at Emma Scully Gallery (New York, NY), Marta (Los Angeles, CA), Objective Gallery (New York, NY), and Superhouse (New York, NY). Her work has been featured in numerous publications including Curbed, Elle Decor, Metropolis, Sight Unseen, and Surface. In 2021, she was named on Sight Unseen’s 2021 American Design Hot List. In November 2022, Pong opened her debut solo presentation at Superhouse, on view through January 8, 2023.

Kim Mupangilaï
Kim Mupangilaï was born in Antwerp into a multi-cultural family – her mother is Belgian, and her father is Congolese. She uses her rich Congolese heritage and the craftsmanship she learned from her Belgian grandfather when building her first chair to inform her art and interiors practice. Primarily working in natural materials – wood, stone, raffia, and banana leaf fiber – Kim Mupangilaï’s work is imaginative, poetic, and meticulously crafted. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Sabato, and De Morgen and the artist was featured on the cover of Milk Magazine. In Spring 2023 Mupangilaï will unveil a new body of work at Superhouse in a solo exhibition. Mupangilaï lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Ryan Decker
Florida-born Ryan Decker was raised in the mountains of North Carolina. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design from Appalachian State University he traded country living for the urban expanse of New York City. Primarily working in the digital space, having modeled 3D objects and coded video games since early adulthood, Decker is a multi-talented artist who creates animations, digital art, and furniture. Decker names diverse sources as inspiration for his art practice: Hieronymus Bosch, Niki de Saint Phalle, Alejandro Jodorowsky, outsider art, science fiction, and Luigi Serafini. Decker has exhibited with Emma Scully Gallery (New York, NY), Good Naked (New York, NY), Jonald Dudd (New York, NY), Superchief Gallery (Miami, FL / New York, NY), and Superhouse (New York, NY). His work has been featured in Curbed, Metropolis, and The New York Times. Decker held his first solo presentation at Superhouse in May 2022. The artist lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Sean Gerstley
A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Sean Gersley’s interest in sculpture and interior spaces is translated using clay as his primary medium. Working from his Philadelphia-based studio, Gerstley has created a ceramic world of slab and coil built forms with pinchy surfaces and unique glazes, often bursting with color. The artist debuted his first series of tile block furniture with Superhouse (New York, NY) in 2020 and continued to develop his approach leading up to his first solo show with Superhouse, Sean Gerstley: Tile Block, in October 2021. Gerstley has shown at Emma Scully Gallery (New York, NY), Air Mattress Gallery (New York, NY) and the 99cent Plus Gallery (Brooklyn, NY). His work has been featured in numerous publications including Architectural Digest, Artforum, Dwell, Elle Decor Italia, Metropolis, Sight Unseen and Surface. He was recently named on Sight Unseen's 2021 American Design Hot List.