Maxim Maximov

Industrial designer Maxim Maximov’s first taste of international recognition arrived in the form of Ross Lovegrove: The seasoned British designer was on a furniture competition jury in 2011 that awarded Maximov first prize for a collection of seating made by shaping sheet metal in one continuous line. Maximov credits his functionalism-meets-poetry approach to growing up in the austere environs of small-town central Russia combined with the beauty of St. Petersburg, where he currently resides. 

Professing an inclination toward two materials with "eternal" potential, wood and metal, Maximov says, "Wood fills the item with live emotion and unlimited possibilities. Metal is cold and churlish—in working with it, I aim to maximize functionality with minimal form." Epitomizing this approach is his anthropomorphic Woof-Woof lamp, a streamlined table lamp whose bottom foot is propped on the floor below. Look for Maximov’s structured and rigorously colored body of work at this year’s Salone Internazionale del Mobile, where he’ll debut a shelf system, wall hooks, and candlesticks with three different European manufacturers.