Chamber presents Black Gold by Quintus Kropholler/

In ancient times as in the present, one of the primary sources of the oil used for the production of bitumen and asphalt was the Near East. With the use of oil as a source of energy in modern times, however, there has been a shift in the commodity value of oil, as it has become a precious substance often referred to as “black gold.”

Yet asphalt, an amalgam of stone and bitumen, retains its ubiquity as an essential constituent of our urban fabric. Even in our technologically driven society, it has remained largely unchanged, and its beauty and potential have been unseen. With Black Gold, Quintus Kropholler explores new and unconventional uses of asphalt, a material often overlooked in our everyday lives. There are tremendous aesthetic possibilities, from the dark sparkling luster of its surface to the many colors and textures to be found in its interior.

By exploiting the unique properties of asphalt, he creates design objects inspired by the forms found in the laboratory. Each piece is thought of as an architectural expression of its particular function, derived from the geometries of the sphere, the cube, the cylinder and the pyramid. From one piece to the next, there is variation in color and texture
due to the shift in the constituent stones and the cutting and polishing of various surfaces.

Established in 2014, Chamber is a boutique of limited edition design, objects and art in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. The space’s unique concept is the vision of Argentinian-born founder, Juan Garcia Mosqueda.

Taking the Renaissance-era “Cabinet of Curiosities” as its inspiration, Chamber aims to be a twenty-first century reliquary for unusual objects as well as a platform for design experimentation.