"I came into the world very young,
in an age that was very old." — Erik Satie
Ficus Interfaith
Wall Vase I (detail), 2025
cementitious terrazzo, steel, antique automotive vase
26 x 11 3/4 x 1 1/4 ins.
66 x 29.8 x 3.2 cm
P·P·O·W is pleased to present Furniture Music, a multimedia project by Ficus Interfaith commemorating the 100-year anniversary of French composer Erik Satie’s death. Featuring five new table works, each corresponding to a piece of Satie’s music, alongside a selection of terrazzo wall pieces, the artworks on display blur the boundaries between furnishings and fine art. Accompanied by the five compositions by Satie, performed by Molly McCommons and recorded, mixed, and mastered by Charles Heimes, Furniture Music invites viewers to rethink the role that decoration plays in our built environment through the form of sound, art, and objects.
Throughout his enigmatic life, Satie redefined the boundaries of music, devising new modes of expression based on the interplay of words, space, visuals, and sound. Between 1917 and 1923, he wrote his prescient musique d'ameublement, or “furniture music," a set of five short compositions that were meant to be played in the background as opposed to actively listened to. While these works were rarely performed during his lifetime, and never in full, they became direct precursors to Muzak and were later championed by musicians John Cage and Brian Eno. Notoriously eccentric, Satie radically reimagined what music could be, posing aesthetic questions that are still explored today. A recluse until the end of his life, Satie’s final words were “Ah…the cows.”
Ficus Interfaith, Furniture Music (installation view)
Ficus Interfaith is a collaboration between Ryan Bush (b. 1990) and Raphael Martinez Cohen (b. 1989). As a sculptural practice, Ficus Interfaith explores the ingenuity and novelties that emerge from craft. Their focus is on historical narratives and materials that are ubiquitous to the point of being overlooked or misunderstood. Ficus Interfaith embraces the spirit of collaboration and reuse, reimagining how craft can enter our lives and influence the spaces we create and inhabit. They have presented solo exhibitions at Nina Johnson, Miami, FL; Deli Gallery, New York, NY; and Prairie, Chicago, IL; among others. Selected group exhibitions include Noplace at P·P·O·W, New York, NY; In Practice: Total Disbelief at SculptureCenter, New York, NY; Material Knowledge at Arsenal Contemporary, New York, NY; and Industrial Dry at Jack Barrett Gallery, New York, NY; among others. In 2024, they were visiting artists at Salmon Creek Farm in Albion, CA, as well as Numanohashi in Tokyo, Japan. In 2026, they will present their first solo exhibition with Tower 49 Gallery, New York, NY.
Ficus Interfaith
Tapisserie en fer forgé (Wrought-iron Tapestry) 1917, 2025
steel, silk, tempered glass
18 1/2 x 48 1/2 x 47 1/2 ins.
47 x 123.2 x 120.7 cm
Ficus Interfaith
Musique Plaque, 2025
cementitious terrazzo
16 x 19 1/2 x 1 1/4 ins.
40.6 x 49.5 x 3.2 cm
Ficus Interfaith
Un salon (A Drawing Room) 1920, 2025
steel, silk, tempered glass
18 1/2 x 45 x 42 ins.
47 x 114.3 x 106.7 cm
Ficus Interfaith
Wall Vase I, 2025
cementitious terrazzo, steel, antique automotive vase
26 x 11 3/4 x 1 1/4 ins.
66 x 29.8 x 3.2 cm
Ficus Interfaith
Chez un "bistrot" (At a "Bistrot") 1920, 2025
steel, silk, tempered glass
18 1/2 x 53 3/4 x 51 1/4 ins.
47 x 136.5 x 130.2 cm
Ficus Interfaith
Wall Vase II, 2025
cementitious terrazzo, steel, antique automotive vase
26 x 11 3/4 x 1 1/4 ins.
66 x 29.8 x 3.2 cm
Ficus Interfaith
Carrelage phonique (Acoustic Tiling) 1917, 2025
steel, silk, tempered glass
18 1/2 x 55 1/2 x 55 1/4 ins.
47 x 141 x 140.3 cm
Ficus Interfaith
Sunflower for John Cage (No. 80), 2025
cementitious terrazzo, 3-D printed plastic
20 x 24 x 1 1/4 ins.
50.8 x 61 x 3.2 cm
Ficus Interfaith
Tenture de cabinet préfecturale (Curtain for a Prefectural Office) 1923, 2025
steel, silk, tempered glass
18 1/2 x 43 1/2 x 27 1/4 ins.
47 x 110.5 x 69.2 cm
Ficus Interfaith
Framed Looking Glass, 2025
cherry, mirror, antique piano keys
28 x 39 x 2 3/4 ins.
71.1 x 99.1 x 7 cm
Ficus Interfaith
Épitaphe D'Erik Satie & Facsimile of Erik Satie's Original Furniture Music Manuscript, 2025
cementitious terrazzo, watercolor on paper
Framed Fascimile: 19 1/2 x 18 1/2 ins. (49.5 x 47 cm)
