Jonathan Chánduví has furniture restoration in his blood. He was born in Lima, where both his father and grandfather worked revamping antiques. The family emigrated to West Hartford, Connecticut, when Chánduví was 9, and as a young adult he became his father’s apprentice. In 2003 he moved to New York to study product design at Parsons, two years ago he signed the lease on a pair of storefronts in East Harlem (323 E. 108 St., nr. First Ave.; 917-656-1735). It took him months to transform the 500-square-foot spaces into a gallery for his work and a studio for local artists. Here’s Chánduví outside the gallery, which used to be a ramshackle hair salon. He replaced the original façade with a combination of wood paneling from a private library, and cast off materials from thrift stores. Photo: Wendy Goodman
Chánduví learned his craft from his father. “He taught me to approach restoration as a puzzle to solve,” he says. This antique lingerie chest only required a few minor touch-ups. Photo: Wendy Goodman
A valance in need of the Chánduví treatment rests on an eighteenth-century English mahogany sideboard. The painting is by Chánduví, who only recently took up this art form. “It happened purely by accident, when one of my paint brushes fell into an open container of plaster,” he explains. “The wood stain from the brush spread through the white plaster, and I realized the endless possibilities.” Photo: Wendy Goodman
A series of his abstract plaster and lacquer works above a late eighteenth-century French armchair. Photo: Wendy Goodman
The workshop is adjacent to the gallery. The façade changes regularly, featuring new work by the studio’s artists. This chalk and acrylic mural is by Gabino Castelán. Photo: Wendy Goodman
The workshop required a lot of TLC. When Chánduví moved in, the ceiling and floor were totally dilapidated and the plaster from the walls was flaking away. Photo: Wendy Goodman
This gorgeous beat-up table echoes the studio’s workhorse atmosphere. Chánduví wheels it around as a surface for all manner of tasks. Photo: Wendy Goodman
A client asked Chánduví to replicate a rusted metal table base containing an old propeller. He did so entirely from scratch. What an incredible job, I couldn’t tell the original from the duplicate! Photo: Wendy Goodman
A trio of dining chairs on the wall of the studio in front of a mural by Chánduví. Photo: Wendy Goodman
