Hoodoo Stacks

Robert Remer’s unique, biophilic approach to design incorporates organic forms into modern garden furniture, ornaments and sculptures, inspired by the evolving relationship between nature and civilization. 

In 1992, Remer graduated from Yale University with a bachelor’s degree in architecture. While at Yale, he studied sculpture under American sculptor and installation artist Alice Aycock, known for her important contributions to the land art movement of the 1970s.

In 1994, Remer began his studio practice before founding the Opiary design and production studio in 2010 in Brooklyn, New York. At Opiary, Remer focuses on integrating natural elements into every design, from his concrete Echelon planter and modern, minimalist Ukiyo Saucer fountain to his distinctive Caldera coffee table. 

Remer’s collection of hand-sculpted, nature-inspired furniture also includes the concrete Hoodoo standing lamp and the classic, yet contemporary, Queen Anne dining table. The innovative Eero center table features a tempered glass table top and open area to grow ornamental plants, flowers, or cooking herbs, or to house artificial plants. 

Remer’s designs at Opiary have garnered critical acclaim at several exhibitions and art fairs. In 2019, Opiary won Best in Show at the New York Metro Architectural Digest Show Awards and Best Exhibition Booth at Boutique Design New York. The organic Drillium club chair was named Best Piece of Furniture by the International Furnishings and Design Association (IFDA) at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in 2021.

Opiary has been featured in numerous prestigious publications, including Forbes, Interior Design, Architectural Digest, House Beautiful and Vogue.

On 1stDibs, discover a range of Robert Remer building and garden elements, decorative objects, tables and more.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”

Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.

Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.

It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.

Vintage, new and antique garden ornaments and classical statues can help elevate your outdoor space. The right decorative touch can accentuate the areas you’ve set aside for outdoor meals and garden parties as well as create a welcome, relaxing environment for guests and family.

In ancient civilizations, garden ornaments and statues were symbolic of religious devotion, conveyed wealth and social class, and eventually were used primarily as decoration. Today, the addition of antique garden ornaments can still elevate garden decor and help personalize an outdoor entertaining area. Finding the right decorative elements and deciding where to integrate them can greatly enhance the visual impact of your home’s exterior and transform your landscape design.

Over time, artists have used ceramic, iron, stone and metal to cast garden ornaments such as porcelain urns, cast-iron lanterns, stone obelisks and marble seating. Positioning antique and vintage garden ornaments amid meticulously manicured greenery can help render more prominent the beauty of the outdoor space you’ve tended over the years. We promise that your brightly colored flowers and other plants will pop against the antique building and garden elements you’ve introduced to your outdoor space.

Nestling a garden bench or other garden furniture near statues or an antique fountain proves welcoming to guests, offering a place to appreciate the work you’ve done on your outdoor space or to enjoy a cocktail in the open air. A large statue in the corner of the garden can draw attention to an area that might otherwise go overlooked, while a grouping of smaller statues can create a similar effect in a less-traveled corner of the yard.

Exterior design matters. Express your individuality and emphasize the natural beauty of an outdoor space with a collection of antique and vintage garden ornaments on 1stDibs that includes modern garden ornaments, Art Deco fixtures, Victorian ornaments and more.