Daniel Arsham

There is a lunar refuge from the summer heat to be found at Friedman Benda. Fold yourself into a daybed that recalls a bronze-gold filling, cradling a set of pillowy white molars; crawl into a bed—with a pair of slippers waiting beside, no less—and read a book of “Arsham-isms” by the light of an amoeba-like lamp. “Objects for Living: Collection II,” an exhibition of the work by artist-designer Daniel Arsham, reinvents the home with objects sinewy, curvy, and bulbous.

This iteration expands “Objects for Living,” an immersive presentation created for Design Miami in 2019. The work in that show was based upon Arsham’s own modernist Long Island home, with the addition of certain fictionalized elements. This version was undertaken after a rumination on his surroundings during the COVID-19 pandemic: What kind of objects would he want to live with? The effects can be alarming: Look closely at the wood grain of Dino Dining Chair (2021), and it’ll pixelate beneath your gaze like plastic. At the same time, it’s a natural outgrowth of a singular mind spent in solitude, producing a closed world nearly from scratch.