Artist David Franklin Inspires a Dazzling New Finish for Kohler
The Washington State talent translates a shimmering look conceived during an artist’s residency with Kohler into Pearlized, debuting at Design Miami
Amongst the new works making their global debut at Design Miami, Kohler continues its legacy of artist collaborations with Pearlized, a glinting new finish developed with sculptor David Franklin for its Artist Editions sinks. Derived from a process perfected while making a large-scale installation of schooling fish during an artist’s residency in Kohler, Wisconsin, the iridescent surface reveals shimmering depths.
“While working in the Kohler MakerSpace, I was looking for a way to make my ceramic fish shine, similar to the way a viewer catches a glimmer of real fish in the water,” says Franklin.
Located in Washington State, Franklin devises sculptures and public installations many drawing on oceanic motifs, from schooling fish to uncoiling tentacles or rippling water. “After my first Arts/Industry residency, Ruth Kohler said I should do artwork that was personal for me, which sparked my idea to create schools of fish,” says Franklin. “I love to go fishing. I live near Puget Sound and find the water to be a huge source of inspiration. I love when my artwork can show the synergy between nature and community and the importance of sustaining those relationships.”
A self-taught talent who initially experimented with graffiti, Franklin first joined the Arts/Industry residency program in 2012 and then the Kohler MakerSpace in 2023. “That provided me with the time, space, and resources to expand my practice from woodworking into slip casting,” he says of the experience. “The Kohler team taught me all about ceramics. It not only gave me resources, but also education. When I returned to my home studio, I purchased a kiln and started slip casting in my studio, which allows me to make multiples, unlike hand carving. Completing this residency gave me opportunities to expand my practice into larger public art commissions.”
As the inaugural Kohler MakerSpace resident, Franklin utilized the program resources to craft the 1,600 ceramic fish sculptures that comprise The Once and Forever Lake Michigan, a dynamic installation that animates the soaring atrium of the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. The school glistens and shimmers in the blue glow of the space thanks to a unique pearl finish the artist developed in collaboration with Kohler.
“The Kohler team took my ceramic fish and applied a PVD (physical vapor deposition) finish, typically used for faucets, to the material,” says Franklin. “It was perfect and luminous and gave the fish the iridescent glow I was looking for.”
That distinct surface treatment now envelops Pearlized, a new Kohler Derring Carillon Artist Editions sink that is premiering at Design Miami in an ethereal display constructed in collaboration with Harry Nuriev, artist, founder, and creative director of Crosby Studios, under the theme of Make.Believe.
“The Pearlized finish is more than a surface, it’s a living canvas, continually changing as we interact with it,” says Nuriev, a Galerie Creative Mind. “Our goal was to create an environment that captures the finish’s ever-evolving beauty and invites people to experience design as something fluid and alive.”
“Providing artists with the freedom to create in our factories has inspired some of our greatest design innovations,” says Chief Sustainable Living Officer, Laura Kohler. “This latest creative endeavor, initiated by David during his residency in Kohler MakerSpace and brought to life through his collaboration with our associates, has resulted in a luminescent product that not only serves a functional purpose but also tells a beautiful story about experimentation and the evolution of how we think about design.”
“I love that Pearlized creates movement for the viewer and is a functional work of art for the home,” says Franklin.