Amidst the chaotic frenzy that is Fuorisalone, Apparatus’ Gabriel Hendifar doesn’t miss a beat in his Milan showroom, welcoming wide-eyed visitors and eagerly explaining each piece on display. As I sit down to talk with the 35 year old Iranian-American designer, there’s an almost palpable connection with what could be considered his most personal work to date. Articulate, educated, and engaging, he recounts the items in his latest collection, Act III, as if they were his own children. And fittingly so, as the entire collection is a sort of brainchild conceived to retrace and reinterpret his Middle Eastern origins.

Jaw-dropping details feature on an array of lights, tables, and objects that are mixed and matched between traditional colors, materials, and finishes to take on their own personalities. Persian furnishings, accessories, and even jewelry are referenced in a sultry yet subtle ornamentation that pairs perfectly with Apparatus’ trademark contemporary lines.

Apparatus Milano per il FuoriSalone 2018, leggi l'intervista a Gabriel Hendifar per scoprire le origini e le ispirazione di Act III, l'ultima collezione di luci, tavoli e complementi d'arredo presentata durante la Milano Design Week.pinterest
Courtesy Photo

To start things off, if you could describe your latest 20-piece collection, Act III?

We’re showing 5 new collections this year: 2 lighting collections, 2 table collections, and 1 collection of objects. The whole overarching theme started from the objects which were conceived as vessels, bowls, candlesticks, and a large bowl in brass, travertine, and marble. We had always planned on making a limited edition of that group in a traditional Persian marquetry technique called khatam, which is made with camel bone, brass, and various types of wood. It’s this kind of beautifully intricate kaleidoscopic or hexagonal pattern, but unfortunately, we were unable to produce those because of U.S. sanctions against trade with Iran.

A few of the highlights include the Median light collection, which is inspired by a futuristic Middle Eastern jewelry, specifically Berber jewelry, and those are made in alabaster glass and fluted brass. I think that’s one of my favorite parts about the whole collection — the radial fluting on the round arches — which is very difficult to get right. And we’re doing those in flush ceiling mounted fixtures for the first time as well. The Talisman fixtures are loosely inspired by the details on statues found in Persepolis, which feature a repeating pattern of concentric circles on horses and beards.

Then there are the Pars tables, referencing traditional nomadic tray tables, that we’ve transformed into something a bit more heavy and permanent. They’re made in brass and adorned with inset, hand-cut leather disks, in either travertine or nero gold marble. I think the console in this group might be one of my favorites.

Finally, we have the Drum tables, which are loosely inspired by the Tompak drum that my father used to play. Those are in parchment and veneer with a clear Deco reference.

You gave the public a taste of Act III with Shazdeh’s Box — the locked chest from your grandmother for which you don’t have a key. It seems to be the perfect analogy for where you find yourself in this moment - attempting to access or reconstruct this long-held connection that has never been fully manifested for you. Do you feel a sense of completion or that you’ve perhaps bridged that gap with Act III?

I don’t know if I’ve arrived, I think it’s definitely a step in that direction. It’s the first time I’ve gotten to dig into something very personal and integrate that into professional work. It’s a journey, a way to integrate these two senses of self. At home, I had one identity and then outside, I had another. As an adult designer, I think I leaned in one direction and I don’t think that’s going to change going forward, but this is certainly a way to bring other pieces of me into the fold, so I’m interested in seeing how that develops.

I think that’s also a very American trait — piecing together and creating your own identity. I read that you had problems with the U.S. import bans? Do you feel like that setback was reflective of your journey to reconnect with your roots?

Absolutely, these pieces have become the physical manifestation of trying to connect with something that’s so close to being accessible but still completely out of reach. I can hold the object in my hand and say I know the person who knows the person that made this, but I can’t make it a reality… It’s a layer on a layer on a layer.

Gabriel Hendifar di Apparatus ci racconta i riflessi ancestrali della sua ultima collezione Act III, presentata alla Milan Design Week 2018pinterest
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How does this very personal collection relate to Act I & Act II - what was the progression there? Or do you find this latest project to be on a different plane?

I think there is something about these moments in time that feels like they are almost end of empire. We’re looking at Iran in the 1970’s, which was a very gilded time for some and horrible for others, and that led to the Islamic Revolution. For Act II we dove into everything up until Weimar Germany, which built up this very forward thinking momentum before running into fascism. To me, there’s something very attractive about these defining, end of empire moments. There’s excess, there’s freedom, and then the pendulum swings in the other direction — the tension between those is really interesting to me.

In many ways, your previous aesthetic juxtaposed, as you put it, the “ornate, cobbled-together rooms of your upbringing” that inspired this collection. Can you talk about the research that went into creating these new pieces and the materials and techniques used? What were some of the major formal inspirations?

I’m always one foot in research and one foot in instinct. I think that ultimately, for things to feel modern, they need to be abstracted. So it’s important to have this historical reference, but it’s also important to forget that. It was interesting to look back at architecture in Persepolis, at the various types of art in Shiraz, and these things that are part of the collective knowledge of what Middle Eastern art and aesthetic looks like. But then I had to pretend like I hadn’t seen it and just let things go where they wanted to go. Ultimately, even when there’s a narrative, these objects should exist outside of that and they should exist in a way that’s not leaning on this idea of story, but rather that the story enriches the object when you decide to engage with that part of it. We’re not creating set pieces, but things that can stand on their own. So you don’t have to engage with that aspect if you don’t want to.

You have showrooms both in New York and Milan, what makes this city special for you and what do you get from this event that you don’t find in New York?

Milan has such a rich design history, specifically 20th-century design, and as soon as you put your toe in the water, you’re almost claiming a connection to this tradition that you hope you’re invited into. And that’s kind of a test. Does the audience think that what we’re doing here is interesting? I think when you put your work in this historical context, you either sink or swim, but the city itself is so inspiring. Our team comes out a few times a year to change the showroom and although Jeremy and I don’t get out here as much as we’d like, we’re hoping to do more things here.

And Act IV? Any clues as to what that might look like?

It’s starting to percolate! I think we might step away from any kind of historic moment and start looking more into broader concepts for Act IV…

Are there any other installations, spaces, or designers you’re really looking forward to catching this year?

It’s hard to get out and see everything when you’re here in the showroom, but one thing I do every year is Villa Necchi-Campiglio. It’s really almost our pilgrimage because to me it’s like the high church of futurist, modernist design. I see something new every single time.

To see the entire Act III collection, check out apparatusstudio.com or stop by their Milan showroom in Via Santa Marta 14 on Saturdays or by appointment.