American Design Hot List

Brian Thoreen

Los Angeles, brianthoreen.com
Thoreen catapulted into the spotlight with the debut of his first collection in 2015, pairing super-sleek forms with natural materials.

What is American design to you, and what excites you about it?
American design is fundamentally about risk taking. We are a relatively young country and all of our ancestors came here seeking something: some freedom, some possibility, some newness, some unknown. It was often at great risk, physically, financially or otherwise. I think American design at its best is still driven by this pioneering instinct.

What are your plans and highlights for the upcoming year?
This year has been quite special for me since the success of my first show in May, and I now have quite a few irons in the fire. Currently I’m working on several furniture pieces to show with Patrick Parrish Gallery during Design Miami, plus myriad custom commissions: I’m finishing up the design of the House of Guvera offices in Los Angeles, working on a sculptural collaboration with Kristin Victoria Barron in the old Coca Cola building in the Arts District in LA, plus a couple other projects which I can’t mention yet.

What inspires your work in general?
Longing, desire, melancholy, play. It’s all in there. I intuitively gravitate towards a material, idea, or form. When something captures my imagination I spend a lot of time with it, mulling it over to see how it can best be expressed formally. It’s a rigorous process, equally intuitive and technical.
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