Isamaya Ffrench opens ‘Studio Iron,’ a radical new platform for contemporary design

British creative director and designer Isamaya Ffrench expands her multidisciplinary practice with Studio Iron, a new platform dedicated to collectible design, experimental furniture, and contemporary objects. Developed in partnership with Saatchi Yates, the inaugural exhibition runs from April 30th to June 14th, 2026 before moving to Studio Iron’s permanent Soho home at The Painting Rooms.

A new platform where art, design, and function blur traditional boundaries

Part gallery, part concept store, Studio Iron encourages artists to step beyond familiar disciplines and engage with furniture, interiors, and functional objects. Named after the medieval Germanic meaning of Isamaya—“iron strength”—the initiative challenges conventional distinctions between art, design, and utility.

Drawing on her background in industrial and product design, Ffrench has invited a diverse group of emerging and established artists to create works occupying the territory between sculpture and function. More than sixty pieces inhabit a stark industrial setting of steel, iron, and concrete, producing an atmosphere that is equal parts seductive and unsettling.

Contemporary design through a post-industrial lens

Among the standout works is Untitled (Wolf) (2026) by Benjamin Kustow, a monumental sculpture of a snarling wolf caught between menace and vulnerability, its exposed ribs and tense posture heightening the sense of unease.

Nearby, Kouros Maghsoudi’s Hug Bed (2026) charges a familiar domestic object with psychological intensity. Encased within a glossy black tubular frame, the king-sized bed hovers between comfort, intimacy, and confinement.

Additional works include Paul McCarthy’s oversized reflective inflatable sculpture, which twists the visual language of popular culture, and Anne Imhof’s bronze bench draped with football jerseys, evoking the residual atmosphere of locker rooms, corridors, and waiting spaces.

Studio Iron: space for experimentation rather than definition

Studio Iron is driven by Ffrench’s conviction that creativity thrives beyond fixed categories. Bringing together artists including Marina Abramović, Kelly Wearstler, Jordan Wolfson, and a new generation of emerging voices, the project champions open-ended experimentation and unexpected outcomes.

Instead of offering polished solutions, Studio Iron embraces ambiguity, friction, and contradiction. The result is a compelling vision of contemporary design where furniture acquires sculptural presence, objects carry narratives, and the boundary between art and everyday life remains intentionally fluid.