Nothing is as it seems
I was deceived, but in a positive sense: at the "Design Miami/Basel" and "Liste" trade fairs, I saw objects that only revealed how special they were on closer inspection.
My perception was put to the test several times recently. Anti-cyclically, I didn't visit the international "Art Basel", but the accompanying fairs: "Design Miami/Basel" for high-end design and "Liste" for contemporary young art. These are a lot smaller and more pleasant for me personally. Fewer people, manageable spaces and no trace of sensory overload. Where I would probably have walked past a lot of things under other circumstances, this time I was able to take my time and take a closer look - luckily! Because many of the objects only blew me away at second glance.
Flowers with rough edges
I often see flowers on trade fair stands. That's why I usually write them off as decoration. This time I'm wrong in this assumption. Catarina Tognon's bouquets are made of glass. The Italian artist creates still lifes that look deceptively real. The reproductions of wilted cut flowers are so realistic because they depict dry branches and even fallen petals. The trained biologist knows a wide variety of flora and fauna and deliberately reproduces them imperfectly. As is so often the case, this is precisely where the beauty lies.
Inverted world
Glass is usually used in furniture design in such a way that it is encased in a base made of less fragile materials. Mathieu Lehanneur challenges this principle with his "Inverted Gravity" collection. The French multidisciplinary designer turns my usual image of a glass table on its head: instead of metal, stone or wood, he uses glass for the legs and marble for the table top. The glass creations look like soap bubbles that make the heavy stone float - and amaze me. Although I have seen it, I still don't quite believe that the hand-blown globes really hold up the massive blocks of marble.
Conscious handling
The office furniture "Ore Streams" shows that old laptop and PC cases don't necessarily have to end up in the rubbish bin. They come from the Italian design duo Formafantasma, who are investigating how electronic waste can be recycled. The two pioneers use parallel animations to explain how design can contribute to the environmentally conscious use of resources. Their collection impresses me because it looks at sustainability from a new angle. On top of that, it proves to me how pretty such a treatment can look. The scrap parts are dipped in pastel colours or refined into filing cabinets.
"Ceci n'est pas une peinture à l'huile"
I expect to see one or two paintings at an art fair. That's why I wasn't surprised at first when I walked past Klára Hosnedlová's work. The closer I got to her, the clearer it became that this was not a classic oil painting. On the contrary: the pictures are made up of numerous threads. The Czech artist embroiders scenes from everyday life by hand. In these, women are getting ready or grooming themselves. An intimate insight that is emphasised by the feel of the surface. I would love to stroke the threads of the picture as the women stroke their faces.
Welcome risk
The work "Prayer Carpet" by Igshaan Adams shows me that I can view a carpet as art. His woven work looks like a sculpture or a mural that is far too good for the floor. Also, unlike most carpets, it is not made from just one material such as pure new wool or hemp. Several components are used here: polyester, wood, nylon and cotton cords as well as - particularly atypical for carpets - glass beads. The African artist works with recycled cords, whose colour gradients are irregular and unpredictable. This gives him the desired element of surprise in his work and also gives me the result.
Because you should stop when it's at its best, I postponed a visit to the actual Art Basel this year. After all the eye candy of the two parallel fairs, I made my way back to Zurich more than satisfied. Follow me if you want to accompany me to such upcoming exhibitions and see more design that surprises. <p
Like a cheerleader, I love celebrating good design and bringing you closer to everything furniture- and interior design- related. I regularly curate simple yet sophisticated interior ideas, report on trends and interview creative minds about their work.