A self-described mad scientist, Erica Sellers has merged art and design since she was a child. She invented contraptions and imaginary worlds, drawing or painting to let her many ideas take shape.
While the product designer and builder has had many supporters, none was more influential than her grandmother Elsa, or “Nonni” to Sellers. Eccentric and generous, Elsa taught Sellers how to play five-card poker, telling her it would come in handy one day. She also nurtured her granddaughter’s love of architecture. “I have fond memories of her driving me around her neighborhood in Palm Beach, Florida to look at all the mansions,” Sellers says. “She’d park right out in front of them so I could sit and sketch.”
Erica Sellers \ Photo: M. Cooper
After earning a degree in industrial design from Rhode Island School of Design, Sellers’ ventures included a stint as head of production for conceptual artist Tavares Strachan, a fellow RISD alum. Her vision for his installations at the Venice Biennale and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art garnered international acclaim.
Sellers and longtime collaborator Jeremy Silberberg founded Studio S II in 2020. The pair works on a range of projects, from interiors to exhibition design. Whether experimenting with glass, aluminum, or maple wood, Sellers incorporates elements of kink, queerness, and a dash of science fiction into her work. She continues to push boundaries, always striving to challenge conventions with furniture and spaces that are distinctly cinematic.
There’s plenty to keep Sellers busy, but physical activity like boxing helps to center her. She’s also passionate about snowboarding, and wishes she had more time to devote to developing that particular skill. Even though she sometimes struggles to achieve a manageable balance, she enjoys consistent creative momentum. “My personal life and work life are pretty intertwined, which can be positive and negative,” Sellers notes. “The lack of boundaries can get exhausting, but I am constantly inspired and ready to hit the ground running.”
Today, Erica Sellers joins us for Friday Five!
Nonni in Florence, Italy
1. My Grandmother Elsa
This photo of my grandmother Elsa (“Nonni”) always resonated with me. She had three husbands throughout her life and she traveled the world. She loved adventure. She loved glamour and living life to the fullest!
Nancy Grossman, Untitled, 1968. Leather, wood, epoxy and metal hardware. 16 ⅞” x 7 ½” x 8 ¾” \ Photo: Erica Sellers
I first discovered Grossman’s work at Art Basel 2019 and was immediately floored. There were two bondaged male heads made from elaborately stitched leather and zippers. They were simultaneously chilling and compelling. When I read that these were made in the late 1960s, that just blew my mind. They felt so contemporary and spoke to real subjects I experience today – masculinity, abuse, and identity. They’re radical. Her work embodies a beautiful mix of the sensual and the grotesque. According to Grossman, “your head, which is the seat of your hang-ups, is also your most powerful organ.”
There is a wonderful interview with Nancy Grossman from The Modern Art Notes Podcast you can listen to here.
Rick Owens and Michele Lamy, 2015 \ Photo: Danielle Levitt, courtesy of Rizzoli
I love Rick Owens and Michèle Lamy as collaborators and independent artists. To me, they are the most inspiring duo. I’ve closely followed their work and I adore how their work is their life. They live it, they respect the process of making, and they respect each other. From what I can tell, they also have good ethics and a sense of responsibility in belonging to the creative industry. It always surprised me that Rick Owens’ fashion didn’t hit it big until he was 40. It reminds me that showing yourself to the world can take a very long time, even when you’re highly devoted. I really look up to them.
Klára Hosnedlová at Kunsthalle Basel – Klára Hosnedlová, GROWTH, exhibition view (with performers), Kunsthalle Basel, 2024 \ Photo: Zdeněk Porcal – Studio Flusser / Kunsthalle Basel
Klára Hosnedlová is my favorite contemporary artist right now. I saw an Instagram post about her show GROWTH in Basel, Switzerland on my feed, and I was instantly absorbed and transported by her surreal work. Her performances embody everything I aim to understand and feel. I want Studio S II’s work to do the same.
“Can’t Help Myself” de Sun Yuan et Peng Yu (Biennale de Venise 2019). Installation des artistes chinois Sun Yuan et Peng Yu, 2016. Robot industriel KUKA, divers matériaux et capteurs, cage de verre dans une structure d’aluminium. Courtesy the Artists. Pavillon international dans les Giardini (Biennale d’art de Venise 2019) \ Photo: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra
This is probably one of the single best pieces of art I’ve ever seen in person. I saw this in May 2019 at the 58th Venice Biennale. “Can’t Help Myself” features a robotic arm that continuously sweeps a deep red liquid back and forth, perpetually failing to neaten it. The arm’s erratic movements express near hysteria, as if it’s meant to portray a human who’s overcome with anxiety.
There are infinite ways to interpret this piece, but it makes me sympathize with the robot’s infinite loop. To me, it’s as if it is experiencing the intense stress of responsibilities and expectations. It just doesn’t know how to go on. This feels especially relevant with the advent of A.I. and the continuation of the combined mix between man and machine. I see this machine as almost human in its pursuit. Or is humanity just becoming more like machines?
Works by Erica Sellers:
Photo: M. Cooper, courtesy of Studio S II
EHT Mirror , 2023 \ The Event Horizon Mirror seems like an ordinary looking glass, however, turning its right-hand knob, causes all reflectivity to vanish, revealing fiery undulations reminiscent of a massive black hole. Activating the piece results in a mesmerizing, consuming phenomenon that causes one’s identity and reflection to be lost and replaced by an endless abyss. This 3D-dimensional illuminated artwork is inspired by images captured only last year of black hole M87 by the Event Horizon Telescope. This “telescope”, which is a network of globally synchronized observatories, is exclusively working towards understanding all things associated with black holes. As we continue to unpack black holes to better understand the universe, perhaps we will learn a little more about our own essence.
Photo: M. Cooper, courtesy of Studio S II
Tremor Dining Table, 2024 \ The Tremor Dining Table elicits the theory of plate tectonics with shifting metal planes. The chrome side of the table and the rubbed steel side of the table intersect at mirrored angles, suggesting a perpetual subterranean state of movement.
Photo: M. Cooper, courtesy of Studio S II
DV Chairs Chrome & Verdigris Edition, 2023 \ Inspired by a myriad of indulgent nights, this chair is meant to share the feeling and effect of “double vision,” the phenomenon of perceiving two images, usually overlapping, as one holistic object. Double vision is often the result of impaired function of the extraocular muscles, in which both eyes are still functional, but cannot target the desired object. In this series, the objects simultaneously pull apart and come together. These new adaptations integrate reflective and patinated materials against the rich browns of american walnut. The new, curvilinear elements render the chrome-plated chair even more disorienting, while the verdigris chair suggests the chrome’s eventual decay.
Photo: M. Cooper, courtesy of Studio S II
Chastity Sconce, 2023 \ With restraint comes anticipated pleasure. Such is the philosophy behind our Chastity Sconces. Rippled glass lies underneath a cage of stainless steel to juxtapose sinuousness and rigidity. The glow of the underlying light accentuates the layering of materials, inviting the sensual and the severe.
Photo: M. Cooper, courtesy of Studio S II
Artio Floor Lamp, 2023 \ The Artio Floor Lamp features two standing cylindrical loops of illuminated fur. They glow from the inside of their contours, creating twin pockets of light that accentuate their symmetry and ricochet throughout a room. The lamp is inspired by the curvature of animal horns and celebrates the unbridled, sometimes humorous nature of the wild. An artiodactyl is an order of mammals to which many horned creatures belong.
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