32 | NOVEMBER 5 • 2020 

‘Never
 Normal’

SUZANNE CHESSLER
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ARTS&LIFE
ART

Miasma

Mirror, 

2020
J

acob Saphier and Ian Klipa reacted to 
the pandemic in the way they usually 
react to a known environment. They 
designed and fabricated a related three-di-
mensional piece for an interior space. 
The Wasserman Projects in Detroit 
reacted to the piece in the way gallery 
administrators usually react to admired 
works, even during a pandemic. They put 
it on display. 
“Miasma Mirror, 2020,
” which artisti-
cally showcases past and current crafted 
materials believed to cope with pandemics, 
is among works by 20 designers in Never 
Normal, a group exhibit in collaboration 
with Form&Seek, a platform that creates, 
curates and sells uniquely crafted products. 
The theme of Never Normal, on view 
through Dec. 12, explores personal connec-
tions to the domestic landscape.
“The prompt of the show is such a good 
way to explore how design and furniture 
can create a sense of change or accommo-
dation to a new way of living like the one 
that we’
re in right now,
” said Saphier, who 
partners with Klipa in developing furniture 
and fixtures as they operate Donut Shop, a 
design studio in Detroit. 
“We typically work in a much more 
commission-based realm, where every-
thing is being made much more functional 
for retail or restaurants or someone’
s home 
so this was an opportunity to create some-
thing that had more of a statement behind 
it.
”
The statement is based on the idea of the 
sneeze guard as a quick-fix divider, but the 
artistic version does not allow viewers to 
see through it to accentuate the separation. 
Viewers can see into the piece, which con-
tains dried flowers, recalling the 1800s-era 
“miasma theory” that disease was caused 
by noxious odors combatted with pleasant 
fragrances brought into masks by herbal 
and floral scents.
Instead of a mirror, a see-through epoxy 
resin was used to form the piece. Flowers 
were collected, dried and cast into the 
resin. All sides are finished, and the way to 
discern the front from back is seeing the 
front of the flowers. 
Pedestal display provides a complete 
impression of the piece.
Working together on specific projects is 
everyday for Saphier and Klipa, who met 
while attending the University of Michigan 
School of Art and Design and who have 
been in the Detroit business community 

for over four years.
“We’
ve created a good symbiosis togeth-
er,
” said Saphier, 27 and single. “Even when 
we’
re creating something on our own, it’
s 
never really on our own because we’
re 
always there giving input to each other 
and offering different ways that something 
could be designed or made.
”
Saphier, who grew up in New York antic-
ipating an industrial design career, followed 
that intention with his first professional job 
as a design engineer in the auto industry.
“I was missing the creative side of things 
and left that job without much of a plan,
” 
he said. “Ian was working freelance as a 
metal worker, and I started doing more 
stuff on my own like Ian was doing and 
helping other craftsmen. 
“
After about half a year, because Ian and 
I were in the same boat, there was a deci-
sion to come together and start what today 
is Donut Shop, a name chosen because 
we like donut shops and believe they have 
pleasant associations for others. A lot of 
our craft and fabrication background has 
been self-taught through work experience.
”
To connect with the creative community 
in Detroit, the two are active with Design 
Core Detroit. Their artistry, in the form 
of a steel chair, was displayed last year 
during New York Design Week and in 2018 
through an entry in Sukkah x Detroit.
“I have plenty of furniture I designed 
that I use in my own home,
” said Saphier, 
who enjoys celebrating Jewish holidays 
with family back in New York. “Some are 
pieces made in school, and some are prod-
ucts that have been discontinued. 
“When I create commission work, I 
make it and send it away. There’
s this 
nice aspect to keeping pieces that I made 
and seeing how they age. It’
s like product 
research.
”
In terms of design, Saphier views a pan-
demic as a starting point for new approach-
es to the built environment. 
“
Although the miasma theory was 
wrong, it led to a movement away from 
dank alleyways to more spaced-out court-
yards,
” he said. “With current health issues 
and climate change, I believe there will 
be larger changes in how our spaces are 
designed.
” 

To view Never Normal, which will be shown through 

Dec. 12 at the Wasserman Projects in Detroit, 

arrange for a private showing by calling (313) 818-

3550 or access it digitally by going to artsy.net/show/

wasserman-projects-never-normal.

New exhibit
at Wasserman 
Projects showcases
pandemic-inspired 
work.

Jacob

Saphier

WASSERMAN PROJECTS

