Trend Watch: Adam Nathaniel Furman is the ‘joyously deviant’ artist shaping up London

(Rick Pushinsky)

Great name

Great guy.

So what’s the story?

Well, his work has been splashed all over town. “Art for people” is his passion.

Have I seen it?

When Adam hits the capital, it’s difficult to miss. Rainbows were everywhere last summer but Adam did his own take on thanking the NHS, with giant flags hoisted over four streets in Belgravia.

He made over the Maternity Unit of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital so now entrances, reception and corridors host huge abstract mosaics of hand-cut porcelain tiles (all made in Stoke).

He’s also painted wacky walkways over Croydon roads. Expect even meaner streets with mad murals, fab façades and break-out bunting when Boris ups the lock.

I take it you’re a fan

What’s not to love? But let’s hear it for the name behind artwork.

And what’s his style?

He says it’s “joyously deviant”. I’d say ice cream meets Memphis.

I get the colours: pistachio, strawberry, vanilla... but I can’t see the Elvis link

Do I have to tell you everything? Not Memphis the city, Memphis the design group. They formed in Italy in the 1980s and in many ways defined the decade with their vibrant mash-up of classical motifs.

They were a group of...

You’re doing my head in. Forget movements, let’s stick to Adam – he’s a one-off. His shapes are shimmying all over homewares.

Now that’s more like it

Mirrl, a charming Glasgow start-up, has a secret process that magics Adam’s artwork on to trays, mirrors and coasters.

More Furman fantasies are the handmade handles by Swarf in Essex – “seven little emojis for the home,” he says, a bit carried away.

Then there are the exploding rugs for Floor Story in east London, with waves, zig-zags and a bit of Greek key for ballast. And super ceramic tiles for Botteganove that interlock a bit like a jigsaw – a racy riff on the classicism of 18th-century Bath.

So what’s next?

Well, we could get a “Liberal Archive” right next to the British Library in Euston Road – a zany ziggurat as a “repository of digital and material culture” – or simply a nice place to read a book for free.

Instagram: @adamnathanielfurman