Perfect Imperfections

Not anyone could look at the static, figurative forms of classical antiquity and the warm, kooky interiors from post-war decor and think: Aha, this fits together. But Gergei Erdei has just the eye for interior flourishes to coalesce visuals from far-flung locales and time periods into entrancing, evocative arrangements.

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The former Gucci designer’s latest endeavor takes shape in six hand-painted wooden screens, collectively dubbed “Objects of Desire.” In describing his broader inspiration, Erdei gushes of “amazing” decorators working from the late 1960s through early ’80s who “had these amazingly wealthy clients and they literally went mad with everything,” he says. “It was all about creating a home that was purely for the drama, for entertaining, for parties and everything.” Now, with Erdei quickly rising up in the interior design world, he’s all about “creating something theatrical.”

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Likewise, the medium of screens—also a frequent feature of ’70s decor—is “extremely decorative,” Erdei says. “They are almost like a mobile painting; they don’t necessarily need to be placed on the wall, but can really be placed anywhere in the space.” 

At the same time, the scenes gracing the “Objects of Desire” are multifaceted in their narrative meaning, brought to life with motifs and styles plucked from historical aesthetics. While at first glance ancient myth seems to be the dominating theme—as compositions are rife with ripped gods and supple goddesses, plus columns galore—the imagery across Erdei’s screens are as much the fruits of his imagination, informed by a sprawling visual vocabulary. In Hunters Screen, four golden-skinned nudes pose with bows and arrows amidst a hunt (yet another instance of subject matter found in different iterations throughout art history). Here, Erdei looked to the decaying murals of Pompeii. “It’s almost like veils of history on top of each other,” he says. “Because by the time they turned into this beautiful faded, crumbling, texture they are more exciting.” Meanwhile, his For the Peace Screen depicts a male nude, rendered with porcelain-white skin as if a marble statue, alongside his dark shadow, as he holds up a crescent moon and a dove. The concept has contemporary resonance, stemming from Erdei’s reaction to the start of the war in Ukraine, while the style draws on both circa 1960s flat Italian mural illustrations and communist murals of his native Hungary.

In the Bérard Boiserier Screen, trompe-l'œil wall paneling, painted in a mix of burnt sienna, ochre, ultramarine and dark brown, harkens to François Bérard’s circa 1930s interior for French perfume brand Guerlain’s showroom, which has since been demolished. “You can have this in your home, something that no longer exists,” Erdei says. In a second architecture-centric composition, Columns of Pompeii Screen, a line of columns take on Ionic spirals at top, and with what Erdei characterizes as “impossible, surrealist” constructions on the lower two-thirds. Such a medley of recontextualized source material points to a unifying approach across Erdei’s wide range of references: in his words, “bringing this perfect imperfection into an object.”

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‍Georgei Erdei’s “Objects of Desire” are available online starting April 1, 2024.