Joseph Algieri

Sun Spots

$2,800 SOLD OUT
Limited-edition; only 1 available

Joseph Algieri, as he puts it, prefers to simply “let things happen.” That nonchalant attitude shines through the playful design objects that come out of the 30-year-old’s Brooklyn studio: contorted cigarette sculptures, wiggly blue ceramic planters, and papier-mâché foam luminaires that evoke melting candlesticks among them. His latest, the Sun Spots table lamp, synthesizes these joyful ideas into a radiant piece that proves a promising ingenuity yet doesn’t compromise on whimsy.

“Most of my inspiration is food-related,” the New Jersey native says of Sun Spots, a one-off that conjures everything from a decorative gourd to an incandescent Jell-O mould to a sugar-coated lemon gumdrop. Algieri achieved the light’s touchworthy tactility by affixing 350 earplugs to a cylindrical base—a sensible evolution of his experimental approach, which has landed the Pratt graduate spots in local group shows at Fredericks & Mae, In Good Company, and Inside/Out. Perhaps the earplugs reference pandemic-induced escapism; perhaps we shouldn’t read too much into it. What’s most important, he notes, is how his work always finds new ways to address the design sphere’s glaring lack of comedy: “Where else can you find a lamp made out of earplugs?” —Ryan Waddoups

Sun Spots purchase comes with complimentary Surface x LAYER Straws set. 

By The Numbers:

5 types of materials 
350 earplugs 
3 days of assembly
45 minutes for expandable foam to cure
14 light sources 
1 bright yellow colorway
14 inches tall and wide
3 lbs in mass
0 emergency room visits during fabrication