TAKTO co-founder George Samuelson Dies in Workshop Accident
George Samuelson, an artist, designer and architect who was part of the TAKTO Design Group, died Wednesday in an accident at his workshop.
Samuelson built hand-wrought furniture pieces and sculptures that were praised for their artfulness and ingenuity.
According to TAKTO’s Facebook page, Samuelson, who was trained as an industrial designer, has been working on a series of unique tables and creating sculptures out of reclaimed metal, wood and other materials.
“A huge presence in our lives and hearts,” wrote Jason Kriegler, a U.S.-based creative director, on Samuelson’s Facebook page. “A tremendous impact in all who this great man has touched.”
“You don’t go around finding friends like George Samuelson here and there,” wrote Carlos Pascual, another friend in the same social media feed. “George was a hyperbolic, kind, naughty and wonderful giant. Life offered me the unlikely gift of being George’s neighbor in two towns to be able to witness his gargantuan adventures: Valle de Bravo and San Miguel.”
Lois George Samuelson Becerra was born March 8, 1957, in Mexico City to Swedish and Colombian parents. He studied biology and industrial design in Mexico City before coming to the Yucatán Peninsula.
He founded TAKTO along with German-born artist Katrin Schikora. His biography states that he also designed and built freshwater and saltwater aquariums, breeding koi, and was a passionate cook.
Lee Steele is the founding director of Mérida-based Roof Cat Media S de RL de CV and has published Yucatán Magazine and other titles since 2012. He was Hearst Connecticut’s Sunday Magazine creative director and worked in New York City for various magazine publishers, including Condé Nast and Primedia, for over 20 years.
