Amusing Mario Lopez Torres Monkey Console
About the Item
- Creator:Mario Lopez Torres (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 32.5 in (82.55 cm)Width: 41 in (104.14 cm)Depth: 24 in (60.96 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1970s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:West Palm Beach, FL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: f121221710238871313fs
Mario Lopez Torres
In the mountains of Mexico, furniture designer and master weaver Mario Lopez Torres works with locally sourced organic materials to painstakingly craft complex and elegant decorative objects, tables and seating.
Originally from Mexico City, Torres apprenticed for his father, who was a professional photographer, and at 13 years old enrolled in a school for the fine arts, as he had by then become deeply interested in illustration and working with clay. At 20, Torres pursued a dream of designing furniture — specifically, weaving. He traveled to Altepexi, a municipality in Puebla, to learn how its artisans wove works from a wooden vegetable reed that is native to the region.
Torres sought mentorship from the prevalent artists Ana Pellicer and James Metcalf in order to learn how to work with metal, as he would need to create frames of brass and copper that supported his woven structures. Torres traveled to the United States to purchase metalworking equipment and went on to establish his own workshop in a small mountain village back in Mexico.
Torres put his hands and imagination to work — he harvested courses of chuspata, which is a reed that grows abundantly on the shores of Lake Pátzcuaro in Michoacán, and welded frames that the reed is woven around. He sold his first piece of furniture in 1974.
Today, Torres creates works that are characterized by his affinity for nature. His palm floor lamps feature woven rattan — a light and versatile material that can mingle with a wide range of styles — while the lifelike monkeys, birds and other animals that support his tables, table lamps or adorn his mirror frames are crafted from chuspata and take on whimsical poses. They create a playful, provocative presence in any space.
Find Mario Lopez Torres seating, lighting and decorative objects on 1stDibs.
You May Also Like
20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
Metal, Brass
Vintage 1970s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Benches
Iron
Vintage 1970s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Benches
Iron
Vintage 1970s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Benches
Iron
Vintage 1970s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Benches
Iron
Vintage 1970s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Benches
Iron
Vintage 1970s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Rattan
Vintage 1960s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Metal
Vintage 1940s French Art Deco Console Tables
Wood
Vintage 1970s American Modern Console Tables
Concrete
