Dozie Kanu for Knoll
Knoll commissioned Dozie Kanu to design tables in metal and leather that reference his Nigerian heritage and Texas icons, a collaboration scheduled for Salone del Mobile 2026. (wallpaper.com) The pieces are being framed as culturally specific furniture that enters production or display during Milan Design Week. (nssgclub.com)
Knoll is launching a new table collection by artist Dozie Kanu at Salone del Mobile 2026 in Milan next week. (wallpaper.com) The line includes three pieces — a console, a coffee table, and a side table — built with leather tops, rounded steel rod edges, and floor-length tassels. Knoll says the collections by Dozie Kanu, Jonathan Muecke, and Johnston Marklee are “launching soon” around this year’s fair. (anothermag.com) (knoll.com) Kanu told AnOther that the tables come in two finishes, bronze and dark grey manganese, and draw on his Nigerian and Texan background. Wallpaper reported that his references include an African drum, African ceremonial dress, and fringed cowboy jackets associated with Texas. (anothermag.com) (wallpaper.com) The collaboration gives Knoll a designer whose work arrives from the art world rather than from its midcentury furniture canon. AnOther described it as Kanu’s first commercial furniture line with a company known for names including Eero Saarinen and Mies van der Rohe. (anothermag.com) Kanu’s own biography sits inside the project. His studio site says he was born in Houston in 1993 and now lives and works in Portugal, while he told AnOther he grew up in Texas with Nigerian immigrant parents and links that experience of displacement to his practice. (doziekanu.com) (anothermag.com) The timing matters because Salone del Mobile remains the furniture industry’s biggest launch platform. The fair’s organizer says the 64th edition runs from April 21 to 26, 2026, at Fiera Milano Rho with more than 1,900 exhibitors and more than 169,000 square metres of sold-out exhibition space. (salonemilano.it) Milan Design Week extends beyond the fairgrounds, giving brands a larger stage for design as image-making and cultural storytelling. NSS G-Club says the citywide program runs April 20 to 26 with 293 initiatives and more than 1,850 events across 19 districts. (nssgclub.com) Knoll’s creative director Jonathan Olivares told Wallpaper that Kanu’s work brings “a singular cultural perspective” while staying direct in structure and function. That is the bet in Milan: furniture sold at scale, but carrying the marks of one artist’s history. (wallpaper.com)
