This Bizarro New York Apartment Is Actually a Work of Art

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published Mar 19, 2018

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Thanks to shows like Sex and the City, the world has been routinely inundated with various fictional and extremely unrealistic accounts of what living in New York City is actually like. Now American designer Sam Stewart has come up with a unique set of furniture for the would-be occupant of a conceptual NYC apartment.

(Image credit: Courtesy of the artist and Fort Gansevoort, New York. Photo by Lauren Coleman)

Dubbed the Cryptid exhibition, the dwelling is situated nearby the Fort Gansevoort art gallery and represents Stewart’s idea of what a home would be like for a “person or creature” who possesses a decidedly artistic aesthetic.

(Image credit: Courtesy of the artist and Fort Gansevoort, New York. Photo by Lauren Coleman)

White walls stand out against the vibrant red carpet that runs throughout the living space. The apartment’s arched fireplace is accentuated by eight ceramic sculptures. Stewart fashioned a set of Appalachian-inspired high back chairs out of charred sapling sticks and translucent plastic. There’s also an oddly conjoined dining room table and bed combo made of burled wood and white leather, respectively that brings to mind Katerina Kamprani’s intentionally impractical household objects. According to Stewart, an accompanying workout bench made out of burled maple veneer and quilted stainless steel and a treadmill set up on a plinth base speak to “rituals and patterns of eating, sleeping, shopping [and] body image.”

(Image credit: Courtesy of the artist and Fort Gansevoort, New York. Photo by Lauren Coleman)

Thanks to the bold, innovative decor, we could totally see Samantha Jones sauntering through these theoretical digs, but Stewart didn’t allow himself to get too carried away when envisioning his tenant.

(Image credit: Courtesy of the artist and Fort Gansevoort, New York. Photo by Lauren Coleman)

For instance, Stewart told Dezeen the ceramic pieces in the apartment are actually sketches of his conceptual client. “They don’t have ears, their features are not too specific, he said. “They were quickly made, because I didn’t want to think too deeply about who this person/creature/whoever would be.”

According to Dezeen, the residentially-zoned space already has a bathroom and kitchen, which informed Stewart’s decision to stage the exhibit like a living space for the imaginary occupants he had in mind.

Cryptid marks Stewart’s first solo exhibition and runs through March 24.

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