New frontiers of AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the field of technology, opening up previously unthinkable possibilities. As such, we should prepare ourselves for a true, new technological revolution in 2024. From the creation of algorithms capable of learning through experience, without the need to be explicitly programmed, to the use of vast datasets to make predictions, AI has the potential to transform the creative sector along with health, finance, transportation, and education. However, the implications of AI go beyond technological potential. The European Union Act pertaining to AI represents an attempt to address these challenges, imposing strict rules to ensure the safety and transparency of AI. This could entail some restrictions on the development of the sector, potentially stifering innovation. The regulation aims to guarantee that AI is used respecting the rights of users and within an ethical framework. However, there’s a risk that excessive regulation may prevent European companies from competing on equal terms with global companies that operate under less stringent regulatory regimes. The challenge this year will be to identify a balanced approach that values both innovation and ethics.
Nature and Sustainability
In the list of major themes that characterized 2023, climate could not be absent. 2023 was declared as the hottest year ever recorded. Perhaps because of this, it was completely impossible to ignore the climate crisis, for the first time and on such a large scale. Perhaps precisely because 2023 was a year of deep climate imbalance, it was no longer possible to deny it and for the first time at COP 28, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, a historic agreement was found, after weeks of controversy. In the draft, it reads that all countries of the world have agreed to gradually move away from fossil fuel sources. In 2024, COP 29 will be held in Azerbaijan (11/24-11). Design too, in its own small way, but with its broad power of transformation, is gradually indicating a new era of sustainable practices. Not by chance, the theme chosen by Fuorisalone 2024 will be the intertwining of Material and Nature, already suggested by Paola Antonelli with the exhibition “Life Cycles”, running until July 7 at MoMA in New York.
5 exhibits not to miss in 2024
It’s going to be a year filled with events for those passionate about design and art in all its forms. From Rome to New York, international exhibitions trace a path between history and modernity. The journey begins at the MAXXI in Rome, where the exhibition “AALTO – Aino Alvar Elisa. The human dimension of the project” continues (until 26/05). Next, we move to Paris, where the Musée des Arts Décoratifs presents “The birth of department stores. Fashion, design, toy, advertising, 1852-1925” starting from April 10. Afterwards, it’s the turn of Vitra Design Museum for the exhibition “Transform! Designing the Future of Energy” (from 23/03) and the Triennale in Milan, which (from April) will pay tribute to Alessandro Mendini with the retrospective “I Am a Dragon”, the 25th anniversary of SaloneSatellite, as well as Inga Sempé and Gae Aulenti (in May). The journey concludes in New York: the Cooper Hewitt will host the exhibition “Making home” for the Smithsonian Design Triennial (in the fall).
Focus on Ceramics
It’s time for ceramics. This material, as old as it is versatile, is experiencing a new “Renaissance” in the framework of design but even more so in contemporary art, where it is expressed in novel experimentations and expressive forms. The Ceramic Brussels event, scheduled from January 25 to 28, is entirely dedicated to it. Within the hotspot Tour&Taxis, its artistic potential will be explored through a rich program that includes conferences, visits, and exhibits, accompanied by 60 galleries, institutions and key players in the ceramic sector, and the guest of honor, Johan Creten.
Trade fairs not to be missed
From electronics to the world of furnishings, to boating and fabrics, the must-see trade fairs in the early months of the year are the CES in Las Vegas (1/9-12) for lovers of electronic products, while design and fabric fans won’t want to miss the January date with Imm Cologne and Heimtextil in Germany and, in France, Maison&Objet (1/18-22) – where, within the Fair, this year’s .Wonder Terrae, the bistro signed by IFDM, will take place. The last appointment in January will be Boot, the Düsseldorf boat show (1/20-28). In March, we return to Frankfurt for the appointment with technical lighting at Light&Building (3/3-8). Unmissable, as always in April, is the Milanese stage for the Salone del Mobile with Eurocucina (4/16-21). In spring, we fly overseas: to Atlanta for Coverings, the reference event for the ceramic and natural stone industry, (4/22-25), to Las Vegas for HD Expo (4/30-5/2), to take stock of hospitality design, and to New York for ICFF (5/19-21).
Mathieu Lehanneur, a designer for the future
2024 will be an important year for French designer Mathieu Lehanneur: in addition to his 50th birthday, the January issue of Maison&Objet will celebrate him as ‘Designer of the Year’. On 26 July, the torch he designed for the Olympic Games will be at the centre of the opening ceremony on the Seine, which promises to be revolutionary. Lehanneur’s work ranges from collector’s items to the creative direction of the Chinese technology company Huawei, and straddles the boundary between design (industrial and interior), art and science. A trait that emerged during his studies at ENSCI – Les Ateliers (Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle): his thesis in 2001 was on therapeutic design, with a project that is now part of the MoMA collection in New York. In 2009, in collaboration with David Edwards (professor at Harvard), he designed Andrea, an air purifier that uses live plants, based on tests carried out by NASA. The Ocean Memories series of functional sculptures gives stone the fluidity of water thanks to computer-controlled processing systems. A designer projecting into the future.
Art and design, cross paths
Design crosses paths with art and vice versa: the collectors’ market for design, which rightly belongs to both worlds, is growing all over the world, and the major international events are taking note of this trend and acting accordingly. We will see this in Italy next April, with three events in quick succession. The first on the calendar is miart in Milan from 12 to 14 April, a contemporary art fair of international stature. From the 16th to the 21st, the baton is passed to the Salone del Mobile.Milano and the Milano Design Week, now a world reference point for the furnishing sector and all the creativity that is (or can be) linked to it; almost at the same time, from the 17th to the 19th, the Venice Art Biennale begins its previews, with the official opening on the 20th. The lagoon exhibition, one of the most prestigious in the world, used to open in June; the first to be brought forward to April was that of 2022. A strategic choice that is becoming an evolutionary step.
