Studio Tooj introduce Burnout and We Are Not the Custodians of Earth in Miami
Stockholm-based duo Ash & Johan Wilén-Jong from Studio Tooj marked their Design Miami/ debut this December with two new bodies of work that position furniture and ceramics as narrative carriers.
Presented by Wexler Gallery, the pieces demonstrate how sculptural craft, material research, and psychological storytelling channel into a visual language that feels distinctly their own.
The presentation introduced Burnout and We Are Not the Custodians of Earth, two series that address different tensions of contemporary life — inner depletion and planetary hierarchy — through objects that hold both function and commentary.
Burnout materializes exhaustion through a chair and side table engineered from cast recycled glass and charred maple. The furniture appears simultaneously enduring and on the edge of collapse, translating the pressure to continue performing despite internal deterioration.
The seat is produced through crushed and fused recycled glass formed in a custom mould, yielding a semi-translucent body that captures suspended anxiety. Light passes through the thick geometry while dark inclusions suspended inside act as internal scars, an echo of psychological residue that sits beneath a calm surface.
The wooden frame supporting the glass evokes the moment just before breakdown, when structure still carries weight yet signals that endurance has limits. Maple is burnt until carbonized, not only altering the surface but also altering its visual timbre — a reminder that production often leaves irreversible traces.
Through four precision joints, the glass appears to float within the timber infrastructure, an engineering feat that gives the furniture a presence closer to sculpture than domestic commodity.
The work challenges conventions of furniture manufacturing and introduces a method of combining glass and wood at a scale rarely attempted, positioning burnout not as spectacle but as quiet paralysis.
In parallel, We Are Not the Custodians of Earth turns outward with a ceramic series that questions the belief that humans manage the natural world. Inspired by Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael, the vessels and illustrated surfaces consider coexistence rather than dominance.
Gentle humor and narrative drawing unsettle the assumed hierarchy between species, proposing humility in place of mastery. Where Burnout deals with internal strain, Custodians observes a planetary perspective, reframing humans as participants rather than overseers.
Ash & Johan Wilén-Jong, founders of Studio TOOJ, operate from Stockholm with a practice spanning art, craft, and design. Their work has appeared internationally and is represented by Wexler Gallery, a supporter of contemporary design since 2000.
All images courtesy of Studio Tooj, shared with permission
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