The combination of art and design has deep, long-established roots but the open and changeable nature of the two sectors sometimes leads to unusual results.
The outcome of this experimental interaction is the collection of 19 works featured in the exhibition “A decade of evolution in design” staged by IFDM at the Fondazione Stelline in Milan (16 – 25 June).
The original nature of these works was as iconic products of design and classic furniture, made available by 17 companies in the sector – partners of the event celebrating 10 years of the trade magazine – but they are given an entirely new meaning when passed through the filter of art.
In order to create a cultural and artistic event that would simultaneously be both a source of inspiration and of reflection, IFDM, along with the Brera Academy of Fine Arts, brought in authoritative names from the world of Made in Italy interiors and lighting:
Angelo Cappellini, Asnaghi Interiors, Dl Decor, Giorgio Collection, Jumbo Collection, La Murrina, Lapalma, MDF Italia, MisuraEmme, Moroso, Natuzzi Italia, Nube, Opera Contemporary, Poliform, Porada, Riva 1920, Visionnaire.
Chairs, tables and coffee tables, armchairs, chandeliers, accessories and other objects were all reworked by 20 young artists of the Milan Academy – selected through a competition of ideas – making use of various techniques, from painting to sculpture, from graphics to video mapping.
By giving every product a different identity, a new aesthetic sensibility, an added emotionality, the artists have transformed the outcome of the work of renowned international designers in a creative interpretation filled with meaning.
Poetic suggestions interwoven like mangrove roots sprout from Porada’s Infinity table; boundless starry skies extend over the upholstery of the Sir armchair by Nube; flourishing coppery gardens bloom from the armchair by Angelo Cappellini, while abstract landscapes envelope the Maui di Riva 1920. Reflections on human aspirations are suggested by the new configuration of the Lem stool by Lapalma, the duality of Yin and Yang emerges from Taoino of MisuraEmme, the Easy bed of Asnaghi Interiors engenders introspection on the different perceptions of the dream, while the design of the Mad chaise longue of Poliform becomes an immediate symbolic depiction of an extract of the Little Prince.
There are no borders or limitations, only the imagination of the artists: Petra Cecilia Borgomaneri, Margherita Castoldi, Francesca Adriana D’Anza, Jacopo De Giuseppe, Andrea De Simone, Arianna De Stefani, Cinzia Defendi, Gabriele Farina, Erika Feraboli, Sofia Feraboli, Lorenzo Fioranelli, Palma Massaro, Chiara Melluso, Samuele Pagani, Aleksandra Santoemma, Francesca Santoro, Fabiana Sapia, Katarina Vukcevic, An YuanYuan, Lucrezia Zaffarano.
