The Queue: Misha Kahn

Misha Kahn blends craft, design, and sculpture into spectacularly maximalist furniture.

In the world of Misha Kahn, no material or technique is out of reach. His exuberant sculptures and furniture incorporate wood, glass, metal, plastics, resin, textiles, clay, found objects, fur, electronic components, gemstones, and countless other materials. He sews, carves, blows, weaves, shapes, throws, paints, and chars these materials into weird, wild, wonderful couches, tables, lighting, jewelry, wall hangings, objets d’art, and everything in between. Born in Duluth, Minnesota, he learned to sew from his grandmother at a young age. A year of studying the highly specialized craft of shoemaking illuminated for him the possibilities that arise when one attempts a new medium or technique. “This is the characteristic that generally makes craft so compelling—discovering this tiny, tiny door that somehow opens into an enormous world,” he says. Kahn is currently based in Brooklyn, where his studio is working on building an entire house, his Gesamtkunstwerk. His new book, Casually Sauntering the Perimeter of Now, covering the first 10 years of his career, is available now from Apartamento. Jennifer Vogel wrote about Kahn and his loveseat Harvest Moon in “Assemblage” in the Fall 2023 issue of American Craft.