In recent years, Magakis has built a cult-like following among leading designers and collectors for his studio-made metal furniture, which turns apparently simple geometric shapes into dynamic, sculptural pieces. When creating his bronze and steel sculptural furniture, Magakis looks to ancient metal arts, modern architecture, and the American Studio Craft Movement for inspiration. Similarly inspired by Constructivism and Modernist architecture, Magakis channels architectural elements in design while tapering each of his forms uniquely. Throughout Magakis’ work runs an enduring interest in cantilevered forms that simultaneously imbues his work with a sense of weightlessness while enabling it to maintain a robust visual power. Magakis’ Plateau Bench is an exemplary instance of his enduring engagement with an architectural design language. Featuring a richly patinated bronze, this bench combines bold lines with a geometric, cantilevered structure that creates a striking dialogue between mass, form, and spatial balance.

Magakis’s work is closely tied to the landscape of Pennsylvania. His summer studio is a farm north of Scranton, at the foot of the Endless Mountain, where he works alone and without assistance, shaping each piece entirely by hand. He credits Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, in the state’s southwestern corner, as the source of his fondness for cantilevered forms, an influence visible in pieces that appear to extend effortlessly into space. Magakis received a degree in sculpture from Penn State and studied welding under the instruction of sculptor Klaus Ihlenfeld, Harry Bertoia’s former assistant.