Brutalist functional art movement

Cristian (Selva) Huygens, an Argentinian artist based in Berlin, is redefining the concepts of functional art and fashion through his unique Brutalist-inspired designs. From repurposed car doors to Lady Gaga’s runway looks, Selva blends raw materials with bold creativity, pioneering the Brutalist Functional Art Movement. On September 19th, Selva Huygens premiered a hybrid art and fashion exhibition, Future Fossils, in Lisbon, Portugal. Curated by Haize, the exhibition opened with a sound installation and a unique performance by Lara Dâmaso. This autumn, the Berlin-based avant-garde fashion brand Selva Huygens will present its first-ever capsule collection, created in partnership with the Lisbon-based art and publishing house Haize. The collection will introduce ready-to-wear pieces that stay true to the brand’s signature aesthetic.

hube: Your use of discarded materials to create functional art is fascinating. What is the most unusual material you’ve repurposed, and what was the story behind it?

Selva Huygens: The most unusual material? That would have to be a car door. A real, heavy metal car door. It was the first piece I developed in this brutalist style. I found it on the street and made a bench out of it – well, more like a bench chair. The story is that it was my first-ever piece, and at that time, no galleries were interested in my work. So one morning, I took the bench to an ATM bank and just placed it there, thinking: ‘I’m going to make my own exhibition’. And then, believe it or not, it got stolen! Someone took it from the ATM. But after that, I actually ended up doing an exhibition at that same ATM.

That was how everything started – showing my work in ATM banks. So that car door bench was definitely one of the most important pieces for me.

h: What inspired you to create the Brutalist Functional Art Movement, and how do you define this concept in your work?

SH: It started when I was figuring out my work. I wanted to bring everything together into one movement. Brutalist architecture was a big influence because I studied architecture, but I wasn’t sure which discipline was mine – furniture design, painting, whatever. So, I mixed it all together, and that’s how the Brutalist Functional Art Movement came about.

It’s about putting Brutalism into every discipline I work with. Right now, it’s fashion – like putting car parts on people. It’s raw, but also functional in a way. That’s the core of the movement.

h: Designing for Lady Gaga must have been a very exciting project. Could you share the creative process behind the dress made from a Mercedes-Benz E-Class bumper, and what challenges did you face?

SH: Yeah, that was a crazy project! The timeline was super tight. Nicola, Gaga’s stylist, got in touch, and we had to move fast. I already had some pieces developed, but we had a lot of back-and-forth, trying to figure out what they wanted. The piece actually got stuck in Germany at one point, but in the end, it worked out for the best because it gave us more time to refine the design.

It was stressful for sure, but at the same time, everything I’d learned before – my tools, my studies – came together for this project. In the end, it all worked out, and I think the result was worth it.

h: As an Argentinian artist based in Berlin, how do these two cultures influence your artistic and design choices? Do you see elements of both cultures in your work?

SH: I grew up in Argentina and lived there until I was 27. Life in Argentina is very different. You always have to push harder and show more, even when you’re not getting paid. You learn to do more with less. Here in Europe, things are more regulated, but that drive to always go the extra mile has stayed with me. On the flip side, Europe offers resources and opportunities that I never had in Argentina, so both cultures have shaped my work in different ways.

h: How do you think the process of creating art live in front of an audience changes the final piece? Would you ever consider a performance where the audience can interact with and influence your work in real time?

SH: I love the idea of interaction. It’s how I started with furniture and performance. I’d create pieces and interact with them live. That’s what led me to fashion – I started dressing the performers. One of the best examples was an exhibition I did in an ATM. I had people interacting with my work without even realising it. They were going in to take out money while I had car parts and canvases set up inside. That kind of live interaction is something I’d love to do more of.

h: If there were no limits, what would be your ultimate piece? 

SH: I’d love to do a runway on the moon.  It would be amazing! The moon is wide, minimal, and pure. It’s like a blank canvas, and my work – especially with car parts – would look perfect there. I can totally picture it, a fashion show on the moon. It just fits right. The moon’s white surface, the emptiness – it symbolises nothingness, which is something I’m drawn to. It wouldn’t disturb the aesthetic, you know?

h: As technology and society evolve, what futuristic concepts or themes do you foresee becoming central to your work, and how do you plan to integrate these into your upcoming projects?

SH: I’m not sure, to be honest. I know there’s AI and all this new technology, but I’m still very hands-on. I need to feel the materials and work with them myself. My work might look futuristic, but the process is still traditional. I’m open to incorporating technology one day, but right now, I enjoy the manual aspect of what I do.

h: When you think about the legacy you want to leave with Selva, what innovative contributions do you hope to make to the worlds of art and fashion, and how do you see your work influencing future generations of artists and designers?

SH:  I think the most important thing is the process – working hard and trusting the process. Ideas come naturally when you put in the work. It doesn’t matter how talented you are. If you keep working, something will come out of it. That’s what I’d want to pass on to future generations: keep working, don’t worry about talent or perfection. Just do the work, and it will pay off.