Kenneth Nilson is a Brooklyn-based artist, metal worker and sculptor. A North Dakota-native, Nilson pursued a degree in graphic design from Minnesota State University, and then moved to New York City in the early 90s. After losing passion for his graphic design career, Nilson started taking welding classes in his spare time. This is where he first learned to make furniture and found his passion for metalwork. It was this passion that led him to become a full-time metal worker, focusing on creating functional art for the home. Learn more about Kenneth Nilson and his work in this week’s Maker Monday.
This stunning, art deco chandelier is eight feet tall, made of bronze, and is directly inspired by traditional metal bridge constructions seen in New York City.
Andrew Joseph: You’re the newest Crayola color. What color are you and why?
Kenneth Nilson: Antique brass. It’s like Navy Blue, it goes with everything.
AJ: If you could be any animal in the world, what animal would you be and why?
KN: I would be a dolphin. I’d never see snow. I’d be someplace warm and not need sunscreen. And I’d look like I’m smiling. I’d fool everyone.
The bonsai table depicts a bronze snake resting in a tree with steel discs, making this a perfect side table for displaying “forbidden” fruits.
AJ: Describe your design style as if you were explaining it to someone who cannot see.
KN: I’d say my style is post-modern fusion. Mixing influences and finishes to see what works. I like to borrow finishes and patterns and textures and reinterpret them. Make organic more geometric. Vice versa. The best explanation may be to make elevator music into techno. Two things I’m not really into. But nothing is new; just new ways to see it. You don’t need new words to make poetry. And it doesn’t have to make sense on the first 75 recitations. A little meter helps. And that’s where the challenge lies.
AJ: What makes you angry?
KN: Questions like this on a Monday. Clearly, I’ve been overestimated.
AJ: What is the last book you read?
KN: At The Center Of All Beaty, Solitude and The Creative Life by Fenton Johnson.
Kenneth’s mastery with metalwork lends itself to the art deco design style. Here, an orb-shaped chandelier is made from joining flat, steel circles with decorative rivets.
AJ: What is something you hope to see trending in design in the future?
KN: I want to see some rough edges. Not worn out shabby chic or vintage. That’s not what I mean. Just some more adventure. Every kitchen and shelving wall looks like an endless spreadsheet, All grid, all excessive order. Contained. I guess it works to make sense of knick-knacks and this new obsession with framing every snapshot. Get rid of the knick-knacks and find an object on vacation. Put art on walls and put snapshots on social media.
AJ: If you had a superpower, what would it be?
KN: I’d look like I’m smiling more often and I’d write good.
About the Maker | Kenneth Nilson’s fine art training alongside his graphic design discipline has brought clarity to his work. As pieces of art and elements of a larger design that is a room, a setting, a house or a landscape. Kenneth’s recent work on pieces of fine art is a logical progression for him. Relief work, sculpture and some fine art prints only expand on what he can offer to a home. Whether it’s a focal point like a staircase, chandelier, or fireplace, or it’s simply a sconce or a side table. Patterns and geometry in his lighting extend to cast shadows that activate a room’s walls and ceilings. Kenneth’s work has appeared on the pages of Interior Design Magazine, Architectural Digest, Hamptons Cottages and Gardens, Metropolitan Home, Traditional Home and Time Out New York.
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