Katia Beneva

 

From gumtree to gallery

 

Upcycled chair
750mm x 550mm

 

Upcycled canvas
600mm x 400mm

 

Reserve price: £200

When we decided to tackle another Art is rubbish project, I turned to that modern treasure hunter’s paradise – Gumtree – searching for forgotten gems destined for transformation. And there it was: a £10 beauty hiding beneath decades of neglect. What emerged from under the grime was pure 1960s elegance—a vintage aluminium cast and
eco-leather mid-century modern chair that someone had abandoned.

 

This isn’t restoration, it’s a reinvention. The accompanying canvas uses leftover paint from the chair’s transformation—an abstract dialogue between waste and wonder. It’s a meditation on the creative potential hidden in what we’re quick to label “rubbish.”

 

Sometimes the most profound art begins with seeing beauty where others see only refuse.