“The New York-based interdisciplinary studio Vagujhelyi presented the Postura Collection, a series of sculptural objects in stainless steel and bronze that explore rituals, identity, and gesture. "Postura is a Spanish word that, like in Italian, refers to our way of relating to ourselves but also to matter. it tells us how we approach things, and that's where everything starts,"
they explain. Diego Villarreal Vagujhelyi 's research transforms metal into evocative forms, suspended between abstraction and cultural memory: weights for hands and arms, lamps, tables, and chairs thus become the expression of a particular relationship with matter that is alive and pulsating. A collection of works that refocuses the pleasure of touch, of contact with matter.”
VAGUJHELYI IS AN INTERDISCIPLINARY DESIGN STUDIO BASED IN NEW YORK CITY.
VAGUJHELYI AIMS TO TRANSFIGURE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE OBJECT AND IT'S HOLDER. The studio operates at the intersection of tradition and innovation, drawing on a lineage shaped by resilience and cultural inheritance. The name VAGUJHELYI reflects a deliberate act of preservation—an anchoring of Hungarian identity within a new world context. This foundation informs a practice rooted in discipline, tension, and composure.
DIEGO VILLARREAL VAGUJHELYI IS A MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST LIVING AND WORKING IN NEW YORK CITY.
Born in Madrid Spain, Villarreal was immersed in a culturally rich environment that continues to inform his artistic language. He began his career in fashion as both a model and photographer, developing a precise visual sensibility. Expanding beyond the still image, he transitioned into sculpture and printmaking—mediums enabling a more direct exploration of material and form.
He is the Designer and Creative Director of VAGUJHELYI, founded in 2022. His debut work, the 20LB Solid STAINLESS-STEEL Weights, premiered with SIZED Studio at Frieze New York in 2022.
VAGUJHELYI has been featured in PIN–UP Magazine, Cultured Magazine, AD Italia, The New York Times, and GQ, with exhibitions in New York and the Middle East, including a solo presentation at NOMAD Design Fair, Abu Dhabi.
Villarreal’s practice continues to explore the expressive potential of metal—primarily bronze and stainless steel—advancing a language of ergonomic and ritualistic form.
TIMELINE
2026:
-SELECTIONS FROM THE POSTURA COLLECTION ARE PRESENTED AS PART OF THE DEBUT OF ACCLAIMED INTERIOR DESIGNER ROBERT STILIN’S NEW GALLERY SPACE, ROBERT STILIN SHOP.
2025:
- THE ORTHOS THRONE FROM THE POSTURA COLLECTION WAS FEATURED
IN ALYSSA KAPITOS BEDROOM INTERVIEW WITH THE NEW YORK TIMES.
“MS. KAPITO DISCOVERED THE WORK OF THE SPANISH-BORN NEW YORK-BASED DESIGNER DIEGO VILLARREAL, AND HIS STUDIO VAGUJHELYI, WHILE SHOPPING
AT THE ROW IN PARIS. SPECIFICALLY, SHE FELL FOR A BRONZE SHOEHORN HE DESIGNED WITH AN ORGANIC SHAPE THAT ALMOST RECALLS AN ANIMAL BONE.
WHEN SHE RETURNED HOME, SHE REACHED OUT TO MR. VILLARREAL ON INSTAGRAM AND LEARNED THAT HE WAS WORKING ON HIS FIRST FEW PIECES OF FURNITURE. "I GOT THIS PIECE IMMEDIATELY, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S AMAZING," MS. KAPITO SAID.
"HE MOLDS A LOT OF THE PIECES TO HIS HANDS, SO IT'S VERY ERGONOMIC," SHE SAID. "THIS CHAIR HAS THREE HOLES IN THE ARMREST WHERE YOUR FINGERS GO, SO YOU CAN LITERALLY WEAR THE CHAIR. IT'S AN ACCENT CHAIR, NOT ONE THAT'S MEANT FOR RELAXING, BUT IT HAPPENS TO BE QUITE COMFORTABLE BECAUSE YOUR ARM RESTS IN IT."
IN HER BEDROOM, IT'S NOT SO MUCH ABOUT HAVING AN ADDITIONAL PLACE TO SIT AS IT IS ABOUT HAVING AN ART PIECE SHE ENJOYS SEEING EVERY DAY. "IT'S SUPER BEAUTIFUL," MS. KAPITO”.
-NOMAD ABU DHABI 2025 DESIGN FAIR: WE INTRODUCED OUR POSTURA COLLECTION TO THE MIDDLE EAST MARKET.
“ONE OF THE MOST STRIKINGLY ORIGINAL DESIGN LEXICONS IN THIS EDITION COMES FROM VAGUJHELYI BY DIEGO VILLARREAL VAGUJHELYI, A YOUNG SPANISH DESIGNER BASED IN NEW YORK WHO AT NOMAD DEBUTS HIS FIRST COLLECTION “POSTURA.”
HIS ORGANICALLY PATINATED BRONZE OBJECTS CARRY TRACES OF HIS WORK WITH HIS MOTHER IN POST-DISASTER RELIEF IN PUERTO RICO, EVOKING IN THEIR FLUID, TACTILE SHAPES THE MALLEABILITY OF MUD—HOVERING BETWEEN COLLAPSE, TEMPORARY INFRASTRUCTURES OF CARE AND THE POSSIBILITY OF RESHAPING. HIS EMOTIONALLY AND ERGONOMICALLY ATTUNED EDITIONED OBJECTS, ALL PRICED UNDER $25,000, FEEL SUSPENDED BETWEEN EROSION AND REBIRTH, BALANCING SCULPTURAL TACTILITY WITH ERGONOMIC LOGIC AND DISCIPLINE. THE FIRST DESIGN PIECE HE EVER CREATED—AN ERGONOMIC WEIGHT PERCHED ON A SCULPTURAL BASE—BECAME A SEED FOR AN ENTIRE LANGUAGE, HE EXPLAINS. THE OBJECT’S PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS ENCOURAGE AND DIRECT A POSTURE, A BEHAVIOR AND A PRECISE INTERACTION ALREADY EMBEDDED IN THE FORM.” OBSERVER MAGAZINE 2024 NOMAD DESIGN FAIR ABU DAHBI
2025.
2024:
-vagujhelyi created new accessories for ludovic de san sernin new york fashion week debut collection in collaboration with the robert mapplethorpe foundation.
“ELSEWHERE MODELS IN LOW-SCOOPING LEATHER APRONS AND DIAPHANOUS DRESSES CARRY RAW WHITE BRASS HORNS – THE PRODUCT OF A REPEAT COLLABORATION WITH VAGUJHELYI, A BRAND FOUNDED BY NEW YORK-BASED ARTIST DIEGO VILLARREAL VAGUJHELYI – EVOKING THE SATYRIC CHARGE OF MAPPLETHORPE’S FRANK DIAZ
(1980).”
-RELEASED A CAPUSLE COLLECTION OF SILVER JEWERLY PORDUCED IN ITALY “HOOFS” AVAILABLE AT MAXFIELD LA STORES.
WORN BY THE LIKES OF KYLIE JENNER, ARTIST KENNEDY YANKO AND SINGER JT.
-THE ROW PARIS: OUR BRONZE SHOEHORN IS PLACED IN THE ROW’S NEWEST PARIS STORE, DESIGNED BY INTERIOR DESIGNER MICHAEL BARGO.
- VAGUJHELYI HAD A SELECTION OF OBJECTS FEAUTRED ON DAVID ZWIRNERS “PLATFORMART.COM” AS PART OF THEIR LIST OF HOLLYDAY GIFTS.
2023:
-VAGUJHELYI CREATED JEWELRY ACESSORIES FOR LUDOVIC de Saint Sernin FOR Spring Summer Paris fashion week 2023.
-BOND BY SIZED AT DRIES VAN NOTEN THE LITTLE HOUSE, 451 N. LA CIENEGABLVD.
2022:
-VAGUJHELYI 20lb Solid STAINLESS-STEEL Weights premiered with Sized Studio at Frieze New York in 2022.