Biënnale Interieur 2012 [ 6 ] - Decostyle

2002, each project is an opportunity
for them to explore the interaction
between the public and the private
spheres.
When designing their architectural
projects, their public spaces, interior
environments, objects and exhibition
concepts, Makkink & Bey look at the
world from a different perspective,
from behind as it were. Each of their
designs radically questions the underlying
logic of existing structures.
Their design team consists of people
with backgrounds in textile, architecture,
mobility etc. who always work
together closely. As a rule, they first
of all question the context and the
assignment, in order to generate new
alternatives based on a more fragmented
point of departure.
Belgians Fien Muller (°1978) and
Hannes Van Severen (°1979) are both
artists. Fien’s main medium is photography,
while Hannes’ work is best
described as ‘sculptural installations’.
They describe their cooperative work
as a ‘furniture project’.
Their furniture designs evoke the
work of artists such as Donald Judd or
movements such as the Bauhaus. Using
a very pure formal language, their
aim is for unique furniture objects
which combine diverse functional objects
such as a bookcase, desk, sofa
and staircase within a single object.
7 8
From this investigative position they
also select the materials for their
designs. The not-so-obvious marriage
of metal tubing, polythene planks and
leather, results in unique furniture
items which combine unity and diversity,
movement and rest.
The last but one is the Japanese
design studio Nendo, which since
a couple of years launches a wide
range of novelties, installations and
presentations. The Nendo signature
is sober and almost minimalistic, and
tends to make an object seem simpler
than it is in reality. It is only six years
ago since Nendo first showed its creations
at the international furniture fair
of Milan.
Nendo – the Japanese word for
modelling clay – has conquered the
foremost European furniture manufacturers
such as De Padova, Moroso,
Cappellini and Swedese. Under
the leadership of Oki Sato, Nendo
is working on about 130 projects,
more than half of this number for the
European markets. All are characterized
by the same lightness of touch. A
Nendo table is no more than a frame,
a steel wire chair nothing more than
the essential contours. For the fair,
Nendo will design a chair that is not
just an ordinary chair. It will be the
perception of a chair, a play with fine
materials in a sober presentation.
Finally, there is the British Troika
9 9
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collective, which is made up of Eva
Rucki, Conny Freyer and Sebastien
Noel. They met during their studies at
the Royal College of Art in London and
soon combined to form an interactive
platform and collective practice which
works through dialogue, experiment
and detailed research.
Their careful, experimental way of
working leads to concepts where
science and philosophy are never far
apart. While researching the changing
nature of reality and human experience,
they continuously move the
boundaries of perception, movement,
sound and time. At Interieur, the
viewer is treated to their ‘Architecture
of Light’. This promises to challenge
and change light itself. Where prisms
normally break up light rays, Troika
bends light into fine, moving lines. �
Interieur 2012
practical information
When: 20 – 28 October 2012
Where: Kortrijk Xpo, België
Organization: Biënnale Interieur
Website: www.interieur.be
E-mail: interieur@interieur.be
Opening weekend: Saturday 20 and
Sunday 21 October, 10 am to 6 pm
Professional days: Monday 22 and
Tuesday 23 October, 10 am to 6 pm
Public days: Wednesday 24 to
Sunday 28 October, 10 am to 6 pm
7 Muller Van Severen with their ‘furniture project’ 8 The British collective Troika consists of Eva Rucki, Conny Freyer and Sebastien Noel
9 David Bowen, an American sculptural artist