



Ayala Serfaty
Shastool Pre I
2025
Unique handmade felt in wool, linen and silk fibers, molded onto a metal structure
Unique handmade felt in wool, linen and silk fibers, molded onto a metal structure
H 20.50 × L 17.75 × W 17.75 in
H 52 x L 45 x W 45 cm
H 52 x L 45 x W 45 cm
Series: Rapa series
Further images
For three decades, Ayala Serfaty has cultivated a singular language at the intersection of art and design, translating the essence of the natural world into her creations. Her sculptural light...
For three decades, Ayala Serfaty has cultivated a singular language at the intersection of art and design, translating the essence of the natural world into her creations. Her sculptural light installations, along with her conceptual furniture in felt and bronze, reinvent the spirit of ancestral traditions in ways both innovative and unexpected. Serfaty’s work is held in the permanent collections of prestigious institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, as well as the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.
In her work with felt, Ayala Serfaty reinvents this primal material, creating bespoke colors and textures, much like a painter composing with a palette. Each piece gives rise to a unique organic motif that transcends categorization—suggesting rocky landscapes, the rugged surface of bark, the hide of an animal, or the plumage of a bird. This body of work, ‘Rapa' (“the healer” in Hebrew), echoes the notion of protection so dear to Joseph Beuys, who claimed to have been saved by this material during World War II.
Ayala Serfaty’s work has been exhibited in prestigious museums worldwide, including the Design Museum in London, the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York, and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. Her pieces are also held in the permanent collections of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and esteemed institutions across the United States, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Houston, the Corning Museum of Glass, and the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
In her work with felt, Ayala Serfaty reinvents this primal material, creating bespoke colors and textures, much like a painter composing with a palette. Each piece gives rise to a unique organic motif that transcends categorization—suggesting rocky landscapes, the rugged surface of bark, the hide of an animal, or the plumage of a bird. This body of work, ‘Rapa' (“the healer” in Hebrew), echoes the notion of protection so dear to Joseph Beuys, who claimed to have been saved by this material during World War II.
Ayala Serfaty’s work has been exhibited in prestigious museums worldwide, including the Design Museum in London, the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York, and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. Her pieces are also held in the permanent collections of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and esteemed institutions across the United States, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Houston, the Corning Museum of Glass, and the Indianapolis Museum of Art.