{"id":786763,"date":"2026-07-07T20:14:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T20:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/786763\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T20:14:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T20:14:08","slug":"curves-designer-sean-brown-knows-how-to-play-with-form","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/786763\/","title":{"rendered":"Curves designer Sean Brown knows how to play with form"},"content":{"rendered":"

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At the heart of Toronto artist Sean Brown\u2019s sensibility is a fascination with disrupting form.Supplied<\/p>\n

Toronto artist, designer and creative director Sean Brown is exhibiting a pop-up store and retrospective in Montreal this summer, showcasing the greatest hits of Curves, the independent houseware and apparel brand he co-founded in 2020. <\/p>\n

At the centre of the exhibition at Montreal\u2019s Foil Gallery hangs a roughly five-foot-tall, two-toned pink Curves tote \u2013 a supersized version of the sculptural bag that exploded last summer and has since been nearly impossible<\/a> to nab online, where Curves products are primarily sold. Suspended from the ceiling like a chandelier, it\u2019s a cheeky homage to the bag becoming \u201cway bigger than we intended,\u201d Brown said. <\/p>\n

Since launching, Curves has carved out a space at the centre of contemporary design culture, thanks to its uncanny ability to tap into the zeitgeist. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn my very brief time studying design at the now-defunct International Academy of Design and Technology in Toronto, one lesson really resonated with me,\u201d Brown said. \u201cThat was how to understand what culture needs before it does \u2013 how to tap into what\u2019s beneath the surface. I always keep that in mind, alongside approachability, whenever I create something.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Brown had a rocky upbringing, entering foster care at age 14 and later dropping out of high school. Yet his need to express himself creatively remained a constant. The son of Jamaican parents, he was inspired by reggae music, the Caribana festival and street culture. In high school he started selling T-shirts he embellished with a Bedazzler kit. (Today, Brown is often seen wearing sports jerseys and varsity jackets decked out with sequins). <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a familiar story of how one becomes an artist,\u201d he said. \u201cI was fuelled by trauma, passion, resilience and creativity.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Money Bag Piggy Bank by Curves.Supplied<\/p>\n

At first, he thought he wanted to be a Disney animator, then a photographer, before settling on becoming a designer. \u201cWhatever it was, I knew I was going to bring life into things,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Brown was drawn to unlikely pairings. He revered the work of Walt Disney and immersed himself in hip-hop culture. While working in retail at Aritzia, Apple and American Apparel, he experimented with reworking second-hand clothing and photography in his spare time.<\/p>\n

With Curves, Brown transforms ordinary items into playful acts of visual storytelling: a colour-changing umbrella that reveals lyrics by Mobb Deep and Missy Elliott when wet; a mirror shaped like a puddle that\u2019s designed to rest on the floor; an incense holder cast from Brown\u2019s own hands.<\/p>\n

But at the heart of the designer\u2019s sensibility is a fascination with disrupting form. Take the Inflatable Ego Chair, a boldly coloured vinyl armchair that balloons into a nearly four-foot-wide, two-and-a-half-foot-high piece of surrealist furniture; or the hand-tufted CD rug, each resembling one of Brown\u2019s favourite hip-hop albums from the early aughts. <\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe this has something to do with how I grew up, but I don\u2019t like when things get left behind,\u201d Brown said. \u201cI know CDs are an extinct technology, but they can still exist and they can still be art. Giving things new form without being too precious about it is right in my sweet spot.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Hardcore CD Rug by Curves.Supplied<\/p>\n

The Montreal retrospective, which runs until Sept. 22, gathers the designer\u2019s most memorable trompe-l\u2019\u0153il works under one roof. Objects include the Floor Candelabra, a five-foot statement piece that treats lighting as sculpture. Nearby, the Archway Vinyl Holder transforms record storage into an architectural illusion. Designed as a wall-mounted rack for LPs, the curved form mimics the look of a doorway or recessed niche. Like many of Brown\u2019s pieces, it blurs the line between functional object and art, turning everyday items into design gestures that reflect the brand\u2019s offbeat sense of humour.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll never get tired of walking the line between retail and art,\u201d Brown said. <\/p>\n

The summer show is a celebration \u2013 and a teaser \u2013 of what\u2019s still to come. Following its Canadian stop, the pop-up is scheduled to land in Baltimore, Md., this fall, with a potential visit to Asia later this year. <\/p>\n

Curves was never intended to remain a niche design label, Brown said, but to evolve into a collection that\u2019s equally at home in an influencer\u2019s bachelor pad as it is in a family living room. Ultimately, he hopes to expand the brand into a network of storefronts around the world: One-stop destinations for the playful, design-forward universe he continues to build.<\/p>\n