Knoll taps Dozie Kanu
Knoll unveiled collaborative tables by Dozie Kanu that mix metal and leather and reference his Nigerian heritage alongside Texas iconography for Salone del Mobile. Wallpaper covered the pieces as part of the fair’s collectible-design strand, highlighting autobiographical references in furniture (wallpaper.com). The launch illustrates the Salone trend toward furniture that reads as personal narrative as much as function (wallpaper.com).
Knoll is using Salone del Mobile 2026 to introduce its first collaboration with artist Dozie Kanu: a three-piece table series in metal and leather. (wallpaper.com) Wallpaper reported the collection includes a console, a coffee table and a side table, all marked by leather tassels that give the pieces a sense of movement. The fair runs in Milan from April 21 to April 26, 2026. (wallpaper.com 1) (wallpaper.com 2) The references are autobiographical and specific: Kanu drew on African drums, African ceremonial dress and the fringed jackets associated with Texas cowboy culture. Kanu was born in Houston in 1993 and describes his practice from Portugal on his studio site. (wallpaper.com) (doziekanu.com) Knoll is not presenting the tables as a one-off art stunt. On its Salone exhibitor page, the brand says this year’s pavilion is focused on “new furniture typologies” that join art and craftsmanship in bold material forms. (salonemilano.it) That framing fits Kanu’s career. His work moves between sculpture, furniture and installation, and his studio biography lists a 2019 solo show at the Studio Museum in Harlem, a 2022 group exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and a 2023 Byredo presentation during Milan design week. (doziekanu.com) The collaboration also extends Knoll’s recent habit of pairing its modernist brand with contemporary cultural figures rather than relying only on archival reissues. Knoll’s Salone materials say the 1938 company is showing new work this year by Johnston Marklee, Jonathan Muecke and Willo Perron alongside a Joseph D’Urso reissue. (salonemilano.it) Wallpaper quoted Knoll creative director Jonathan Olivares saying Kanu’s work brings “a singular cultural perspective” while staying direct in structure and function. Olivares said his first conversations with Kanu about the project dated to 2022, around the time of his own appointment as senior vice president of design. (wallpaper.com) The tables land at a fair where brands are increasingly selling story as well as seating, storage or surface. Knoll is still showing tables, but in Milan this month it is also showing how a legacy furniture name wants biography, craft and collectible design to sit in the same room. (wallpaper.com) (salonemilano.it)
