LIFE BEYOND FIRST CLASS
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FUTUREFORMS creates collectible sculptural works that transform both private residences and the buildings their owners shape into immersive works of art.
KENDRA LOCKE
PHOTOGRAPHY: MATTHEW MILLMAN
Public sculpture has long balanced uneasily between monument and ornament. The most compelling works today occupy a more ambiguous territory, functioning simultaneously as object and environment. This is the space explored by Jason Kelly Johnson and Nataly Gattegno, the artists behind the Bay Area studio FUTUREFORMS. Their work translates complex computational systems into intricate sculptural forms that feel less engineered than grown. With Orbital, their permanent installation in San Francisco’s Mission Bay, the studio offers a compelling example of how contemporary sculpture can operate as artwork, spatial experience, and urban landmark at once.
Working under the name FUTUREFORMS, Johnson and Gattegno have spent more than two decades exploring the intersection of sculpture, architecture, and digital fabrication. Their works are immediately recognizable. Complex geometric structures unfold into forms that appear almost organic, shaped through computational design yet realized with a remarkable level of physical craft.
Founded in 2009, the studio quickly gained attention for transforming digital processes into tactile sculptural works. For Johnson and Gattegno, computation functions less as a tool of repetition and more as a form of contemporary craftsmanship. Algorithms generate intricate geometries that traditional fabrication would struggle to achieve, yet the finished works retain a distinctly human sensibility
Their sculptures often create moments of pause within the city. Rather than standing apart from their surroundings, the works invite viewers to enter, circulate, and observe how light, shadow, and reflection shift over time.
Orbital, installed in the entrance plaza of the OpenAI headquarters in Mission Bay, embodies this approach. Conceived as a contemporary interpretation of the historic garden folly, the structure functions as both sculpture and sanctuary.
Composed of thousands of digitally fabricated aluminum and steel elements, Orbital presents a reflective perforated stainless-steel exterior that mirrors the surrounding skyline. Daylight filters through the intricate surface, illuminating a quiet interior chamber.
Seen from across the plaza, the sculpture reads as a shimmering geometric form suspended in space. Step inside and the experience changes entirely. Light scatters through the structure’s latticework, producing an environment the artists describe as a “Creature of the Garden.”
The work encourages slow movement. Visitors circle its exterior, then enter its interior to watch reflections and filtered light reshape the atmosphere of the space. Throughout the day the sculpture shifts subtly as sunlight moves across its surfaces.
Johnson and Gattegno frequently draw inspiration from natural systems such as growth patterns and cellular structures. Through computational processes these organic logics are translated into precise geometric frameworks. The resulting sculptures feel both engineered and alive.
FUTUREFORMS’ work ranges from freestanding sculptural objects to installations integrated into the built landscape. Each project relies on a careful orchestration of geometry, light, shadow, and movement to create environments that resonate with a wide audience.
This openness remains central to the studio’s philosophy. Their sculptures invite engagement from multiple perspectives. A passerby might pause briefly in the plaza. Another visitor might step inside and linger. Each encounter reveals a different dimension of the work.
As digital technologies continue to reshape the built environment, FUTUREFORMS offers a compelling vision of contemporary sculpture. Their works do not simply occupy space within the city. They change how that space is experienced.
For collectors seeking a defining artistic presence, FUTUREFORMS’ sculptural works offer a striking way to introduce contemporary art into both residences and privately owned buildings. www.futureforms.us
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