Psychogeography presented by Avram Rusu Studio / Token / Wallpaper Projects
Shelter / NYCxDESIGN 2025
Shelter by Afternoon Light
-
601 West 26th Street
New York, NY 10001
-
Saturday, May 17: 11-7
Sunday, May 18: 11-6
*Industry professionals enjoy an exclusive day for networking and forging new partnerships on Monday, May 19, 10-6.
Avram Rusu Studio - Token - Wallpaper Projects present: Psychogeography – an installation inspired by exploration of urban geographies and organic form. The exhibit runs May 17-19, 2025 at Shelter, a new design fair presenting an exclusive roster of 100+ brands and creatives from the worlds of furniture, art, and decoration.
At its heart, this collaboration is about dialogue — between artists, between materials, between ideas. Friends and mutual admirers, the two studios share a deep respect for process, intuition, and the expressive potential of the organic world — its forms, rhythms, and unpredictable intelligence. They speak the same language: one rooted in movement, materiality, and the quiet force of design that invites emotion before comprehension.
Psychogeography originated in 1950s Paris with Guy Debord, the creator of the avant-garde group Lettrist International. Debord defined it as "the study of the specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals." This installation channels that spirit — inviting the viewer to wander, discover, and reorient.
Our Psychogeography is a surreal, immersive environment where geometries and organic elements intersect. Shapes stretch and curve. The work shimmers, erodes, flows, changes. Together, the objects create irrational geometries within a rational framework — a liminal space of contradiction and harmony.
Aquatic-inspired lighting from Avram Rusu (including the layered Nymphaea and fluid, Marea Chandelier and the sculptural, graffiti-tough Continuum) anchors the space with dreamlike motion. Token's furniture pieces — from the rippling, carved surface of the Sarsen to the dyed geometric veneer of the Isa Cabinet — carry that motion into grounded form. Each piece explores discovery, the deceptive nature of simplicity, and the emotional weight of form.
Shown together, these works build synergy. Shifting moods emerge through complementary palettes, and an intuitive connection unfolds — inviting visitors to enter a layered terrain where light, form, and memory overlap.
Avram Rusu introduces a new lighting collection, Nymphaea along with two custom installations - a Marea custom-colored chandelier and Continuum ceiling-to-wall illumination. Featuring handblown glass discs in myriad translucent colors thoughtfully layered into distinctive arrangements, Nymphaea evokes the delicate dance of colorful blossoms amid the tranquility of floating lily pads. Hand-blown glass objects include twisted and shaped Crushed Vases and new bowls, alongside the Avram Rusu for Art + Loom Halo rug. // avramrusu.com
TOKEN unveils a continued evolution of American craft, treating furniture as functional objects and sculptural forms. The 2025 collection expands on the studio’s exploration of raw shape and material character in a language both tactile and expressive. The Isa Cabinet interprets the lineage of pattern-making, by using dye-infusion to introduce colors that augment wood’s natural palette. Each piece is a blend of geometric precision and organic variation in wood grain, a signature of Token's practice. Additionally, the Robson Table, new Lounge chair and new Sarsen piece are simultaneously grounded, and gestural. // tokennyc.com
Wallpaper Projects presents “Silver Study N.20” from their Silver Studies series - a collection of prints created from experimental chemical paintings on photographic paper. This unique process expands into environmental murals that are custom scaled for individual projects. // wallpaperprojects.com