Artist and designer Fernando Mastrangelo has built one of the most original studio practices by doing something that sounds almost impossible: he uses everyday and natural materials like sand, salt, silica, and crushed glass to create pieces that are in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum and the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian. His most audacious piece? A life-sized sculpture of a Colombian coca farmer named Felix, crafted out of $70,000 worth of real cocaine, that caught the attention of the D.E.A. In this episode, he joins host Alexandra Fairweather on an original Chamberlain couch to talk about where great art and design come from – and what it’s allowed to say.

Follow our host: https://www.instagram.com/alexandrafairweather/ 

Follow our guest: https://www.instagram.com/iamfm/?hl=en 

Listen to Fernando’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/design-discord/id1817191053 

Stay up-to-date with the John Chamberlain Estate:

• Follow: https://www.instagram.com/johnchamberlainestate/ 
• To learn more about the estate’s work and mission, visit: https://www.john-chamberlain.com/ 
• Media inquiries: chamberlain@dadagoldberg.com

Tune in to episodes of ON THE COUCH via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon, YouTube, or wherever you prefer to stream.

---------------

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

02:12 Childhood an as immigrant

03:26 Deciding to become an artist

04:20 Falling in love with sculpture

07:27 Grad school at VCU and harsh critiques

10:59 Rebelling in year two of grad school

11:59 Moving to NYC and working with Matthew Barney

16:40 Learning from Matthew Barney's philosophy

20:00 Making the "Felix" cocaine sculpture 

23:05 Going broke and paying it forward

32:31 Shifting into design

52:39 Closing thoughts

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.