Friedman Benda gallery in New York presents Symbio, the latest exhibition by Dutch designer Joris Laarman, on view from 8 May to 13 June 2026. The show brings together two bodies of work developed through research into advanced materials and digital design processes.
This is Laarman’s first solo exhibition in the city in over ten years, following his retrospective at the Cooper Hewitt in 2017, and brings together pieces that explore the relationship between technical innovation, digital processes and sculptural language.
Among the works on display, the Ply Loop series stands out, comprising furniture crafted from hundreds of wooden pieces assembled using algorithmic techniques. Each object—which includes a chair, a console table, a freestanding bookcase and a wall-mounted piece—is constructed by hand using non-toxic, biodegradable adhesives, in a process that proposes new approaches to waste-free design.
The exhibition also features the Symbio series, centred on a collection of benches designed to interact with their surroundings. These pieces are made from a type of concrete developed to capture carbon throughout its life cycle, and feature surfaces designed to support mosses and lichens, incorporating patterns inspired by mathematical studies of natural growth.
Laarman’s work lies at the intersection of design, science and technology, combining digital processes, robotic manufacturing and parametric modelling with references to organic forms. His practice is based in his laboratory in Amsterdam, where he collaborates with multidisciplinary teams to explore new material and production applications.
With a distinguished international career behind him, the designer has seen his works included in the collections of institutions such as the Centre Pompidou, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, amongst others.
With Symbio, Laarman invites us to reflect on the role of design in a context of technological and environmental transformation, through objects that integrate research, process and use within a single concept.
