Published by The Architecture and Design Network - Archiproducts
By Ilene Steingut
21 May 2025
See original published article
Space Gallery in Collaboration with Robina Benson Design House
Space Gallery is delighted to present our first collaboration with the renowned Robina Benson Design House. Robina Benson’s savoir-faire for creating modern, luxury interiors with high end design and lifestyle brands, will complement the exceptional artists and exhibitions curated by Space Gallery.
For the debut collection, Japanese design visionary Nendo brings his ground breaking collaboration for Paola Lenti. Hana-arashi, as disclosed by Nendo, describes the mesmerizing spectacle when cherry blossom petals detach and dance through the air – a transient beauty more captivating than the blossoms themselves, lasting mere moments, as they dance in the wind.
The collection comprises a remarkable series of Objets d’art born from Paola Lenti and Nendo’s shared commitment to sustainable design. Production remnants of Paola Lenti’s signature Maris fabric are delicately rolled and seamlessly welded, transforming into three dimensional pieces inspired by Samurai armour. This meticulous process breathes new life into repurposed materials, resulting in suspension and floro lamps, armchairs, pours, baskets and more – each carrying a story of innovation and artistry sharing Nendo and Paola Lenti’s profound love and respect for nature.
We look forward to welcoming you as we step into this new era with our Soho gallery celebrating our wonderful roster of artists alongside world-class design.
Installation of Hana-arashi by Nendo and designer furniture by Nendo and Paola Lenti, represented by Robina Benson SoHo Design House at Space Gallery SoHo.
(photo by Marco Petrini)
Robina Benson Design House, long known for its expansive spaces in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, has opened a collaboration with Space Gallery SoHo on the corner of Broome and Crosby Streets in New York’s Soho neighborhood. In comparison to its other venues, this space favors intimacy over scale and atmosphere over showmanship.
Space Gallery SoHo
located on 428 Broome Street - New York City, NY 10013
(photo by Marco Petrini)
This approach is embodied in the inaugural exhibition “Hana Arashi” - whose title translates from Japanese as “flower storm” - a collaboration between Nendo and Paola Lenti. The Japanese phrase refers to a precise moment in time when cherry blossom petals are swept up by a sudden breeze—a fleeting yet ineffably poetic event in which structure dissolves into movement. This same idea of lightness, transience, and suspended motion informs the installation.
“We envisioned the Soho gallery as a creative haven, a place where design transcends function to become art,” says founder Robina Benson. “With Hana Arashi, we invite guests to explore the harmony between contemporary design and poetic expression. This concept is a tribute to the ever-changing energy of Soho and the artistry that defines our brand."
Installation of Hana-arashi by Nendo and designer furniture by Nendo and Paola Lenti, represented by Robina Benson SoHo Design House at Space Gallery SoHo.
(photo by Marco Petrini)
The installation plays with perception. A flurry of textile fragments are hung - almost invisibly - in mid-air, drifting from ceiling to floor. The pieces – knotted, woven, or loosely cut – mimic a cloud of petals scattered across space, floating, overlapping, casting layered shadows in a sort of weightless choreography.
Within this “hovering haze”, a series of sculptural armchairs – curvaceous and softly oversized forms upholstered in dense textiles - focus the eye. On the walls, flat forms - abstracted botanical or cloud-like shapes – float against the white backdrop, rendering the spatial interplay even more layered and complex, visually pulling the seating from the horizontal floor to the vertical wall plane.
Installation of Hana-arashi by Nendo and designer furniture by Nendo and Paola Lenti, represented by Robina Benson SoHo Design House at Space Gallery SoHo.
(photo by Marco Petrini)
The Nendo-Lenti collaboration is not so much a furniture display as much as a suspended moment with intricate surfaces and a palette that ranges from clear blues to ember reds, creating an experience that tends toward wandering and imagining as opposed to observing. Nendo is known for distilling complex ideas into singular gestures, while Paola Lenti bridges the divide between textile innovation and furniture design. Hana Arashi merges their distinctive vocabularies in a spatial composition that invites attention through atmosphere rather than formality.
Artwork by Ulf Saupe and installation of Hana-arashi by Nendo and designer furniture by Nendo and Paola Lenti, represented by Robina Benson SoHo Design House at Space Gallery SoHo.
(photo by Marco Petrini)
Artwork by Ulf Saupe and Tony Cragg bronze sculpture at Space Gallery SoHo
(photo by Marco Petrini)
Installation of Hana-arashi by Nendo and designer furniture by Nendo and Paola Lenti, represented by Robina Benson SoHo Design House at Space Gallery SoHo.
(photo by Marco Petrini)
Artwork by Nunzio de Martinho and installation of Hana-arashi by Nendo and designer furniture by Nendo and Paola Lenti, represented by Robina Benson SoHo Design House at Space Gallery SoHo.
(photo by Marco Petrini)
Installation of Hana-arashi by Nendo and designer furniture by Nendo and Paola Lenti, represented by Robina Benson SoHo Design House at Space Gallery SoHo.
(photo by Marco Petrini)
For more information on
the artworks of this Curation
contact: soho@spacestbarth.com
or visit spacegallerystbarth.com