Step Into Artist Harry Nuriev's Balenciaga-Inspired Office

Step Into Artist Harry Nuriev's Balenciaga-Inspired Office

By Michael Love Michael
Dec 13, 2018

Imagine how glam a day at the office would feel if you knew that after a stressful commute, a comfy Balenciaga chair and desk awaited you. Before diving into the hundreds of unread emails in your inbox and hankering down with a cup of mediocre break room coffee, at least there's a prime photo op for Instagram! The fashion! The wealth!

If this kind of luxury around the nine-to-five work day excites you, artist Harry Nuriev has realized the perfect fantasy for corporate cuties everywhere.

Related | 2018 PAPER People: Harry Nuriev

During Design Miami last week, the New York-based artist debuted an installation called The Office, encompassing office couture and the trend of "logo mania," which first made waves in the early aughts and has recently seen a revival in high-end designers ranging from Fendi to Karl Lagerfeld and in resurgent sportswear brands like Champion and Fila.

The clever installation features a swivel chair emblazoned with Balenciaga's classic Sans Serif font, a bulky AC unit, and a logo-printed photocopier. Nuriev, who works for design firm Crosby Studios in New York, tells Dazed that the pieces are both satirical and sentimental, coming from "my early professional life, when I worked as a lowly architect in the Moscow Parks & Recreation Department [...] My time there was unfulfilling, and I wanted to find a form of escape. The collection is emblematic of that moment in my career."

If you've had several jobs or have dared to achieve career goals in America, you know exactly what this sort of humdrum rat race existence is like, which is why Nuriev's vision of The Office is one we can all get behind.

Speaking with PAPER, Nuriev says he aims to "create spaces that make people curious and get their eyes of their phones" with his work. But he acknowledges that "Instagram is the new TV," which is why his Balenciaga art installation is so IG-friendly. "In a way, it's become even bigger than TV. You can't ignore that fact."

Photo via Instagram


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