Ulu Group is a collection of sculptural furniture by Armenian-American designer Ara Thorose based in NYC.
The main concept revolves around exploring the idea of a circle trapped inside a square. Additionally, the collection, which includes three chairs and a table, was entirely based on Thorose's own body proportions (legs), which were used in the design process. Each piece of furniture is made of a curved steel frame, wrapped by the polyurethane foam that wrestles between a circular and a square shape.
“A cylinder is both figural and abstract. I use cylinders to articulate a line of thinking, whereby a sequence of gestures compose something of meaning and purpose. The objects pose questions. Through self configuration, they achieve new forms of resolution” says the artist.
Ulu Group expands on Thorose's previous Soft Cylinders collection, a set of furniture that explores the power of cylindrical forms. The objects are covered in a wool and silk-blend fabric designed especially for the collection. Thorose chose to add silk due to its subtle sheen which accentuates the furniture's contours in certain lighting.
Starting from hand-built models, the designer refines the geometries of these small-scale maquettes by sketching their profiles, in order to transform these sketches into full-scale pieces of furniture.
