Karl Zahn
for roll & Hill
Karl Zahn’s pieces are visually distinctive and technically rigorous. Viewing lighting and furniture as sculpture, the Brooklyn-based designer reduces forms to geometric elements, then introduces a twist—an offset joint or subtle asymmetry—that gives each piece quiet personality. He employs materials with precision, using weight, thickness, and finish as design components.
Karl’s aesthetics do not come at the expense of function. His pieces solve design problems, both self-imposed and spatial. For example, he filters light through shielding forms to control and soften illumination; he creates modular fixtures that can be clustered or expanded to suit different ceiling heights. As such, he pairs the poetic with the practical, giving form to both.
“I am constantly trying something different. I push my own boundaries and am never satisfied doing the same thing twice.”
Running with sculpture
Karl’s work collapses the traditional divide between art (beauty for its own sake) and design (practical function). In his lighting and furniture, aesthetics matter as much as performance.
Atlas
Named for the Titan condemned to hold up the world, Atlas features an illuminated glass globe supported by a brass armature.
Taper
Evoking a milking stool, Taper features teardrop-shaped legs refined on a lathe. The piece is available in three heights and in black walnut or white oak.
“I’ve tried to turn that part on in my brain that says, ‘You need a business plan.’ But no…that just gets in the way of making things look good.”
Cora
With its lustrous finish and warm illumination, this series of aluminum pendants and sconces references Persephone (also known as Cora), whose annual return brought light to the underworld.
