Eerdmans’ chartreuse-painted Greek Revival salon, increasingly a draw in its own right among art and design cognoscenti, directly informed much of Engelhart’s work. He designed the exhibit’s monumental mirror to fit the space over the mantel, handcrafting the 40-inch-by-60-inch sphere- topped frame and painting it in veiny red-and-black marble with gold-leaf detailing. Centrally installed in the salon is a 5-foot-6-inch-tall coral-colored spired tower comprising seven individual boxes; it nearly kisses the pendant light. Displayed more intimately throughout the gallery are myriad other silhouettes, from stepped boxes recalling sarcophagi and inverted ziggurats to arrays of tinted mirrors, their frames variously ocular and heraldic.

Regarding the influence of Ancient Egypt on his work, Engelhart has long been transfixed by that time and place: as a child of the 1970s, he was awestruck by the Treasures of Tutankhamun exhibit that toured the U.S. (“I was ruined for life,” he says), and he continues to find inspiration in the collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Engelhart starts each work by making a scale drawing. He then uses bookbinding board to form the structure of the piece, painstakingly cutting the panels and joining them with glue. In a separate workstream, he paints stylized stone finishes on large sheets of paper, applying inks using a variety of techniques. He then adheres the painted paper to the object. The resulting precision of proportion and joinery, and the richness of finish, elevate the work to the realm of the decorative arts.

The objects, which Engelhart began making in earnest at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, serves as an extension of his career in fashion. Based in Paris from 1997 to 2011, he thrived as a designer of menswear under his own name, and he’s designed and consulted for other houses and brands including Hermès and Dover Street Market. Drawing a comparison between the Eerdmans exhibit and the models he used to dress, Engelhart says, “This time, that green room is my muse, the base upon which to build my fantasy.”

Engelhart spent his early childhood on Manhattan’s Upper West Side before his family moved to Charleston, South Carolina. He later attended boarding school in California and studied at the San Francisco Art Institute. His adult life has been split between New York City, Paris, and Vienna, whose museums in particular inspired his turn toward decorative arts. He resides in Manhattan’s East Village.