B A K A

Roberto Rodríguez Redondo presents “B A K A”, a limited series composed of ten numbered wooden sculptures and two unique “mysterious” pieces. The work depicts a baby Kaiju, inspired by the Japanese Sofubi toys of the 1970s and 1980s—an ambiguous creature, suspended between the monstrous and the innocent. Carved entirely from wood, painted with synthetic enamel, and finished with a glossy lacquer, the piece becomes a reflection on sculptural practice itself: the tension between the handcrafted and the industrial, between technique and error, between manual gesture and the precision of design. For Redondo, the object becomes a language that reveals the underlying frictions between making and manufacturing.

The collaboration with Formica Group places the project at the intersection of art and material, guided by a deep sensitivity to surfaces and the memory embedded in them. We accompanied the artist in designing the container-box for each sculpture, conceived as both a physical and symbolic extension of the piece. Each box expands the tactile and visual experience of the material, becoming a form that breathes alongside the sculpture and extends its dialogue between volume, memory, and desire.

Crafted from 6 mm Formica^® compact laminate, the boxes bring playfulness and colour to the work through the selected finishes: a vibrant gloss AR+ orange—reference F4155 Sun—for the ten limited pieces, and a matte oak design—F5374 Elegant Oak—for the two “mysterious” works (surprise boxes). Each box is carved with the letters “B A K A,” revealing the material’s black core in the design. They stand as artworks in their own right, executed with remarkable skill by JOTA SOLUTIONS.

The ten sculptures share the same form and are individually numbered, while the two Surprise Boxes are singular editions, each pictorially intervened by the artist. These one-off versions introduce chance, play, and rarity into the series, evoking the tradition of collecting and the playful spirit characteristic of Japanese pop culture.

“B A K A” continues Roberto Rodríguez Redondo’s exploration of production processes, of the object as symbol and desire, and of the hybrid terrain between contemporary art and design. The collaboration between Formica Group and Redondo gives shape to that porous boundary between sculptural work and design object, questioning how manual creation and fabrication culture continue to converse within contemporary art.