Meet the Makers Selected to Create the Furniture in LACMA’s David Geffen Wing
“The richness and depth of real walnut wood is unique,” says MASHstudios founder Bernard Brucha, who had a career turning point when the museum approached his studio to oversee the displays for art
Only a few creative minds experience a career moment that they later describe as “jaw-dropping.” This was Bernard Brucha’s reaction when the founder of Los Angeles design office MASHstudios realized he was about to receive a visit from the pioneering architect Peter Zumthor to discuss potentially overseeing the cabinetry for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s new David Geffen wing.
“I was floored because Zumthor has been my number one hero since I started designing,” Brucha tells Galerie, explaining that the Swiss Pritzker Prize laureate was perhaps “the first architect I had studied at length.” Twenty-five years into his industry-favorite studio, Brucha was amazed by the opportunity to helm the museum’s much-awaited expansion, not only due to the project’s ambition and scale but also for the opportunity to learn from Zumthor about texture and intention.
The journey started with an anonymous phone call from a representative of an undisclosed L.A. museum with a desire to visit MASHstudio’s factory in Orange County. After a quick tour on a late Friday night, Brucha received another call to confirm a second visit with their architect, whom he realized was none other than Zumthor, alongside museum director Michael Govan. “The idea of having my idol walk around my shop was phenomenal,” he remembers.
Brucha had already read about Zumthor’s background in cabinetmaking, which tied back to his father, who worked in cabinetry in Basel. “There were no deviations or second-guessing,” he says about the experience of creating all the vitrines, pedestals, tables, and cabinetry for the museum’s new building, which now spans around 110,000 square feet. During the two-hour visit, the architect touched all the finishes and wooden surfaces and examined the joinery. He pulled samples and asked questions about the studio’s process. The conversation during lunch barely revolved around the design of what ended up becoming a $724 million project. On his way out, however, Zumthor turned to Govan and said, “These are the people who will be making the furniture for the museum.”
Locality was among the project’s main principles, and Brucha’s response was effortless, given his own commitment to use what he describes as “honest local wood from the West Coast.” The task to custom-fabricate all the bases for art that spans a myriad of human expressions from numerous civilizations and geographies was a challenge to be swiftly solved. From Greek busts and vases to pre-Columbian totems and Francis Bacon paintings, the offerings on view range in visual and narrative multitudes, but the task was one the team embraced with awareness for each artwork. “We designed each display piece for the art it was meant to hold,” he explains. A motto the team constantly repeated was that each piece of furniture had to be able to lift an elephant. “Some artworks weigh thousands of pounds,” explains Buchar, who utilized solid steel to balance the walnut wood and glass. The team considered numerous ways to observe the artwork, including those behind glass cases or over pedestals.
The scale and intentionality that Buchar experienced is something he explains as “a career first.” Major undertakings, however, have been essential in the studio’s gradual growth. Goop, Apple, Uber, Yelp, and Chanel are only a handful of former clients that have tapped the studio to craft their spaces with high-quality, long-lasting materials. But when it came to the LACMA expansion, “I’ve been training for this project my entire career,” he admits.
The path to this crescendo moment started almost three decades ago, when he established MASHstudios in New York with a group of friends from different professions, including architects, interior designers, and marketing experts. “We were a mash of designers that came together for each project,” he says. The studio’s resilience and growth in the industry, according to its founder, tie back to its knowledge of wood, which “always comes differently from any tree.” He believes the tactility element of his craft doesn’t lend itself to any type of digital automation. The reason behind remaining a go-to choice among the world’s top tech companies, institutions, and luxury brands is their attention to avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach in design. “We create bespoke solutions for everyone, but they are also art pieces for every individual who will use them,” he says.