The sinuous anatomy of nature in Michael Sean Stolworthy’s design

Serous Bar Stool by Michael Sean Stolworthy

Michael Sean Stolworthy’s unique style is characterized by sinuous shapes inspired by nature in a continuous exploration of forms.

Who is Michael Sean Stolworthy

Michael Sean Stolworthy
Michael Sean Stolworthy.

Michael is an internationally acclaimed designer.

After earning a degree in Media Arts and 3-D Animation, Michael decides to move away from the world of corporate design and to fully explore the fusion of art and product design.

In 2010 he founded MSMD | Studio, his design studio based in Las Vegas, NV USA, where today he designs and creates visual effects, theatrical events, staging, furniture and objects, combining traditional production methods with computer-aided production.

Its clients also include major brands such as Marvel Studios, Ferrari, Microsoft, Samsung, Royal Caribbean and many more.

We had the pleasure of meeting Michael in 2021, for a great project that we took care of in Australia and we immediately appreciated his personality, professionalism and his unique style.

For these reasons we decided to ask him some questions and post his answers on our blog.

Nature as inspiration.

“I’m fascinated by the sinuous anatomy found in nature and the ocean. Fluid organic forms in the beauty of the raw world around us.”

Michael Sean Stolworthy

In his works it’s very important the relation between art and design.

He affirmed: “I aim to translate the sinuous language of nature into curvaceous fluid forms infused with a subtle balance of modern and contemporary flare. Harnessing technology with a digital workflow, I capitalize on the power and vast possibilities of design software, 3D printing, and automated machining. These tools give me the freedom to push at the boundaries between art & design and ultimately bring my organic design visions into the real world”.

The dream project.

Michael says his dream project is the Serous chairs: “My “Serous” chairs were featured in the Oscar winning Marvel Studios film Black Panther! I was contacted by the studio while they were still filming and was commissioned to make 15 exclusive pieces for the Vibranium Technology Lab scenes. It was surreal to see my work on the big screen. The film won the Oscar for Best Production Design & Set Decoration as well! To add to that, I was invited again to design for the sequel Black Panther II film releasing later this year. You will see some very cool organic works with my signature on them.”

Inflection table and Plexus drink table.

Among his best designs there are the Inflection table and the Plexus drink table. We asked him how they were conceived.

“Like many of my works I start out by studying and manipulating platonic solids and geometric primitive geometries and let my imagination do the rest. These pieces were conceived in such a way of bringing function and beauty to a mathematical form in the computer and having it transcend into a real world piece.”

Inflection Table

Derived as an exploratory computational design. Inflection points in differential geometry are the points of the curve where the curvature changes. Hammer forged in bronze and hand polished.

Plexus Drink Table

Geometrically morphed from a dodecahedron platonic solid into a chic network of subdued pentagonal & hexagonal voids. The Plexus table has a beautifully polished bronze exterior with a contrasting dark patina interior making it a curious piece for conversation.”

Image credits: MSMD | StudioMarvel