Spain's design industry is enjoying a boom. Last year, the country's designers made a splash at the Milan Furniture Design Fair, and in the second half of the year, the country's diverse design culture was promoted through the "Valencia Design Capital". This February, the Madrid Design Festival took place, with a series of events related to sustainability and the preservation of traditional craftsmanship. Through these events, it is hoped to reinterpret "old" themes and make Madrid the new "opinion leader" of global design fairs.
Many of the projects in the festival's exhibition demonstrate the importance and future potential of sustainable materials in the Spanish design industry. The new products presented by renowned designers Jorge Penedes and Alvaro Catalunya de Ocon, as well as by 17 current design students from all over Spain, are dedicated to bringing matter and people closer together. Through the beauty and warmth of wood grain, they generate delights that can encourage diversity and encounter.
For example, in Natural Connections, an exhibition supported by the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), the three spaces in the exhibition are designed as unique gathering points where visitors can meet, enjoy and expand their knowledge. Inspired by the shape of old wooden benches, Inma Bermudez and Moritz Krafft's La manada perdida (The Lost Herd) series consists of five pieces of furniture that encourage visitors to "gather" in an informal, freer and more playful way. ". Similarly, Jorge's Wrap installations focus on lightness, assembled with thin, lightweight wooden tubes. Multiple installation options and easy transport capabilities add to its flexibility.
Álvaro Catalán de Ocón's "NUBE" lamps
Álvaro Catalán de Ocón is known for his woven lamps made from discarded plastic bottles, but this time he's using a new "dark technology" to make wood glow to create "NUBE" lamps. These lamps look like they are made of small pieces of wood, but they actually have a very complex electrical system built into them. Alvaro explained that these lamps use three kinds of wood, respectively, as the positive pole, negative pole and insulator. American cherry and maple are used as connectors for the copper and steel wires of the electrical conductors, while American oak is used as a nylon fixture for the electrical insulator. When electricity passes through this wooden network, LED lights come on, drawing shadows for the ceiling, walls and floor. Alvaro explains, "So it's a (shadow-filled) light! And visually, it also evokes many things: a cloud, a spreading skin, an insect nest, a chrysalis. ......" The ethereal inspiration of the "Cloud" luminaire is impressive and a new lighting element inspired by nature. A new lighting element inspired by nature.
On the other hand, in the exhibition "Slow Spain: Slow furniture for fast change", a number of wooden furniture pieces show the concept of "slow work and fine work In the "Slow Spain: Slow furniture for fast change" exhibition, the concept of "slow work for fast change" is demonstrated by the many wooden furniture pieces, such as side tables, bookcases, screens, desks and chairs, which have been skillfully created by the new generation of designers and are displayed in the exhibition hall, which seems to have been "monopolized" by plastic today. If plastic were replaced with fine woodworking skills, would it be more effective in promoting awareness of sustainable furniture consumption?
Habi" crib designed by Jon Calleja, Nora Etxeberria and Ane Ozkoidi
Many young designers are convinced that flexible, modular furniture is the future. Arnau Anoro's "Scaffold" cabinet system, for example, is like a common structure in the construction industry, allowing new storage spaces to be built according to the size of the home; Natale Armendáriz, Jon Calleja, and Nora Ozkoidi's "Habi" crib are the future. The "Habi" crib, designed by Natale Armendáriz, Jon Calleja, Nora Et xeber ria and Ane Ozkoidi, can be "transformed" into a wardrobe when the baby grows up. The "Habi" crib, designed by AHEC and Ane Ozkoidi, can be "transformed" into a closet when the baby grows up.
AHEC's wide range of woods, including red oak, maple, cherry and tulip wood, inspire different categories, such as Cèlia Anglés' "Leve Mon Verre" wine cooler. She believes that a small glass of wine with friends and family is always a precious moment. Therefore, the contrasting tones and textures of this furniture will not only be a personal decorative piece in the home, but also a conversation starter!
Tornasol Studio's "Kauani" wireless lantern
Sofa bed" from Miguel Leiro's "Triclinium" collection
Speaking of young designers, the Spanish "Rising Talent Awards", which were presented at the Paris Fashion Design Fair this spring, also made a "triumphant return" to the festival. Coincidentally, Miguel Leiro's "Sofa Bed" from the "Triclinium" collection and Tornasol Studio's "Kauani wireless lanterns from the designers' collaboration with fabric designer Ines Quezada. The former's chevron pattern, based on basic concepts of Roman architecture and interior design, weaves golden, black and red wool threads to create an extremely rich color palette with a subtle three-dimensionality at the same time. The latter wraps its metal structure in a 3D knitted pattern to bring out the colors of native Mexican plants such as cactus, agave, corn, cacao and pepper. The simplicity of the forms and the vividness of the patterns are also reminiscent of the paintings of the famous Spanish artist Joan Miró.
"The "Trío" chair and "Túnel" carpet from the Las Ánimas design group
The "Clouds" series is complemented by the special exhibition "Illuminated Shadow", presented by the "guest country" of the festival. Seville. To showcase the country's most traditional and avant-garde designs, the exhibition's curator, Macarena Navarro-Reverter, has selected more than 100 works that reflect the past and fuse it with the modern, hoping that visitors will find "a way to evolve with the times in order to generate dynamic collaborations and unexpected new concepts. " Represented in the special exhibition is the design duo Las Ánimas, founded by Trini Salamanca and Pablo Párraga. Their "Beyond Golden Rainbow" table has the dominance of ancient architecture and is made of resin, polystyrene, fiberglass and concrete, with an uneven surface texture. With a smooth yellow finish, it takes on a vibrant visual quality. In addition, for the exhibition, they have designed Trío and Túnel, two pieces that are also full of "ritualistic roles". The former is a hand-carved wooden chair that references the rituals of ancestral cultures, giving it a futuristic flair; the latter is a tufted carpet depicting a map of the world "intertwined with the past and the present", with a striking variation of color and volume. All seven designs presented by the duo reveal their fascination with geometry and symbolism. They also claim to have managed to break through the stereotypes of traditional and avant-garde design because of a "very deep interaction with materials and tools" in their design process.
Spanish design is often seen in the mainstream as representative of a love of nature and outdoor living, but interestingly, when they venture into the future and come up with innovative concepts, they seem very natural and unpretentious. This may be because their designs are based on cultural traditions, so even bold innovations have traceable roots and are not just empty concepts that exist in a fictional rendered world. Spanish designers are free to push the boundaries of tradition without losing their soul and essence. This unique design philosophy has made them unique in the global design community.
Article Source:艺术与设计
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