K’ab Juun: Where Mexican Craft and Contemporary Vision Converge in NYC
Photography: ALEJANDRO RAMÍREZ OROZCO
Step inside the Meatpacking gallery and experience a design perspective that’s bold, tactile, and entirely its own. Carly Cushnie reports.
Mexico City has long been a wellspring of creativity — from its cuisine to its architecture and design, the city pulses with cultural abundance. In recent years, it’s become a magnetic destination for the global creative set. Lured by its vibrancy, its fusion of influences, the city can’t help but inspire.
Until recently, the only way to bring back a piece of that design magic was by wandering the galleries in Polanco, wrestling with shipping logistics and hoping the costs don’t exceed the piece itself. This very thought preoccupied Mexico City-based interior designer Ilana Goldberg during her trips to New York a few years ago. She realized that Mexican design deserved a place in the global conversation — one too long dominated by European and American voices. From that realization came the desire to spotlight Mexico’s design talent and showcase it in New York City.
Together with her partner Dafna Puszkar, K’ab Juun was born — a space devoted to contemporary Mexican design in the heart of New York’s Meatpacking District. K’ab Juun — meaning “hand” and “unique” in Mayan — encapsulates the spirit of the space: tactile, singular, and deeply rooted in craft. It offers limited-edition and one-of-a-kind works that fuse tradition and innovation through the work of some of Mexico’s leading visionaries across lighting, furniture, art and objects.
Highlights include marble works by Ente, sculptural furniture by Peca Studio (their set of gold leaf armoires were particularly striking) and a coffee table carved from Onyx — a collaboration by Raul de la Ceda x Onice — is such a vivid representation of the rich heritage of Mexican craft and its contemporary interpretations.
Photography: ALEJANDRO RAMÍREZ OROZCO
The 1,900 square foot space was designed by Ilana Goldberg’s award-winning design firm Goldberg Interiores in collaboration Studio Ater. The gallery offers a refreshingly new perspective to Little West 12th Street bringing together artisanal details and architectural elements from Mexico with modern refinement. The arched passageways, terracotta tones, clay flooring punctuated by Bandido’s ethereal lighting harmoniously give rise to the intricate narratives of Mexican design.
This creative exchange will constantly flow as the assortment of pieces evolve over time. Alongside the physical gallery, the collection will be available online, broadening the K’ab Juun community beyond just New York and offering collectors and design lovers nationwide access.
A new chapter for Mexican design has arrived in New York: refined, rooted, and quietly radical. More than a gallery, K’ab Juun is a bridge between cultures, a testament to collaboration and craftsmanship. It’s where the soul of Mexico finds new expression — not as an export, but as an experience.
Photography: ALEJANDRO RAMÍREZ OROZCO
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