Friedman Benda presents “SYMBIO”, the new solo exhibition by Joris Laarman, open to the public in New York from 8 May to 24 July 2026. The exhibition marks the Dutch designer’s return to the city with a solo show almost a decade after his retrospective at the Cooper Hewitt Museum in 2017.
The exhibition brings together two bodies of work developed in Laarman’s studio, where digital design, material research, advanced manufacturing and processes inspired by nature converge. The project offers an interpretation of contemporary design in which technology is not presented as an end in itself, but as a tool for exploring new forms, materials and production systems.
One of the exhibition’s focal points is the Ply Loop series, comprising a chair, a console table, a freestanding bookcase and a wall-mounted shelving unit. The pieces have been hand-assembled and developed using digital design and manufacturing tools. The series explores the structural and formal possibilities of plywood through the use of a biodegradable resin, offering a fresh approach to working with engineered wood.
The second focus is the Symbio series, comprising 3D-printed benches made from a mixture of materials that explores advances in concrete with permanent carbon storage capacity. The pieces incorporate channels containing a bioactive substrate that encourages the growth of mosses and lichens, creating a direct relationship between the object, its surroundings and organic matter.
The living patterns that appear on the surfaces of the benches follow a reaction-diffusion model described by Alan Turing, used by Laarman as a reference to address the symbiosis between nature, architecture, computing and craftsmanship. The result places the work in a space between functional sculpture, scientific research and collectable design.
Joris Laarman, a graduate of the Design Academy Eindhoven and co-founder of Joris Laarman Lab alongside Anita Star, has spent the last two decades developing a practice based on collaboration between designers, engineers, programmers and craftspeople. His work is included in the permanent collections of institutions such as the Centre Pompidou, MoMA in New York, the Rijksmuseum, the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Vitra Design Museum.
Coinciding with the exhibition at Friedman Benda, works from the Maker and Microstructures series are also on display in Venice as part of “The Only True Protest is Beauty”, the inaugural exhibition of the Fondazione Dries Van Noten.
With “SYMBIO”, Friedman Benda situates Laarman’s work within the current debate on limited-edition design, material innovation and sustainability applied to high-end objects. The exhibition offers an approach to luxury through research, permanence and the relationship between craftsmanship, technology and the natural environment.
