Agata’s top 10 at Salone

WORDS and PHOTOS: Agata Karolina Niemkiewicz

South African Designer Agata Karolina Niemkiewicz was fortunate benough to attend Salone del Mobile in Milan this year, where she presented her HUMMINGBIRD rocking chair. Currently back at her Eindhoven studio, Agata shares with VISI the 10 works and/or projects that impressed her the most at this year’s fair.

#1:  Scholten&Baijings for 1616 Arita / Japan

Project: Colour Porcelain

Shown at: Spazio Rossana Orlandi

A beautiful collection of ceramics by the Dutch duo, Scholten&Baijings.

Scholten&Baijings made a significant appearance at this year’s Salone Del Mobile in Milan, with work not only produced for 1616 Arita from Japan, but also for MINI, Karimoku New Standard and Pastoe, amongst others. This collection uses the traditional Arita colour spectrum in a totally different and new way, dividing the colours. Their works are executed beautifully and have their own unique touch, specifically as a result of their approach to colour and the combination of graphic elements and patterns used on 3D objects.

#2:  Heinrich Wang for New Chi / Taiwan

Project/collection:  Lighter Than White

Shown at: Triennale

I had the absolute honour to be given a personal tour of the collection “Lighter Than White” by Mr Wang himself. This glass master-turned-ceramic designer explained his process of creation for each piece in the most precise manner. The name of the collection, “Lighter Than White”, really rings true when interacting with each piece. Wang breaks the conventional limits of ceramics, reversing the placement of weight and shape. He creates unusual and extremely difficult – to produce successfully – connections holding pieces together with the result that the experience of holding a teacup or pot can never be the same again. What made this collection additionally wonderful (in my humble opinion) was that Wang focused as much on the visual, aesthetic design as on the interactive experience with each piece. Each work lived up to its name and the proverb to which it related.

#3:  Tom Dixon for Tom Dixon / UK

Project/collection: Luminosity

Shown at: Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia

Dixon is known for his impressive and abundant installations. This year proved to be nothing less then an enormous maze of mirrors, gorgeous flat pack metal lamps and opulence. Topping it all off was a Gelateria and drawing room where each visitor was given a complimentary Gelato, and paper and crayons to design the next lamp in Tom Dixon range. Dezeen teamed up with Tom Dixon and created a booth where various designers were interviewed during the expo. As if that wasn’t enough, Dixon created a secondary mini expo for his side brand “Eclectic by Tom Dixon”, which housed a collection of objects from wooden cutting boards to scented candles and solid ‘gold’ men’s shoes.

#4:  Dutch Invertuals : Multiple Designers / NL

Collection: Untouchables Retouched

The Dutch Invertuals show was a strong collection of both finished objects and more research-based projects. Products ranged from interiors of cabinets built from the cycle of ‘destruction for the purpose of construction’, to projects examining the production of bio fuel from plastic waste and the possible use of fungus to break down plastic.

#5:  Jaime Hayon for Multiple Brands / Spain

Collection: Spazio Hayon

Shown at: Lambrate District

Jaime Hayon is a master of translation. Hayon’s characters and animated beings belong in the work he creates as much as they do in the pages of his sketch book. Spazio Hayon was a collection of works produced for various companies, among them Italian manufacturer Bosa. Hayon’s collection consisted of everything from minimal furniture to elaborately carved crystal ware, a golden bird saluting you on entry, and watch and mobile phone designs, among many, many other pieces.

Hayon is a favourite of mine and it is always fun seeing how he stretches the boundaries between illustration, three-dimensional design and his own imagination.

#6:  Buri Gadda for Gunjan Gupta / India

Collection: Gunjan Gupta

Shown at: Lambrate District

This was the first time I had seen an Indian designed collection at the Salone Del Mobile. I found this collection interesting because of its combination of materials, aesthetic and culture. It was a great pleasure to see how the designers managed to retain a sense of India’s strong visual aesthetic and culture whilst making pieces suited to a more Western market. There are promising things coming from this side of the world, and I look forward to seeing what will be happening over the coming years.

#7: Ventura Lambrate

Collection: Ventura Lambrate

Shown at: Ventura Lambrate

This year Ventura Lambrate was the best I’ve ever seen it! The enormous space was curated really well and the selection of designers and studios was strong.

To top it all off, the catering area centred in the main hall was a slice of grandmother’s kitchen farm-style heaven! Fences made of wheat lined the perimeter, flags flew above and even with the monsoon-like rain pouring down outside, it was really hard not to feel like you were amidst the most lovely picnic in the park.

My top three studios/designers in the Ventura Lambrate were: Studio De la O, Wendy Maarten and Dmoch. Jose De la O of Studio De la O focuses his work and research on the creation of what he calls Urban Agriculture. His products focus on creating indoor gardens for the home, allowing people to grow their own vegetables and plants even when space is limited. De la O’s new work, “Vicky Lamp” is yet another success to add to his previous pieces, “Antifly” and “Window Agriculture”. Vicky Lamp has the double function of illuminating the home, and creating light to grow food.

Studio Wendy Maarten showed their collection “Lightness in Lines”. This Dutch duo created a beautifully balanced and simplistic collection consisting of two chairs, side tables, a table and three variants of hanging lamps. The aesthetic of this collection is delicate and beautiful. Each colour and line is considered and the series, “Gradient Lamp”, is a pure feast for the eyes. A really great collection of work all round, and certainly a studio to keep your eyes on.

Dmoch out of Sweden takes the idea of objects and play to another level. The “Selma” collection strongly references the Swedish design aesthetic, but adds an element of almost unexpected playfulness. The pieces are very focused on human interaction, and this relationship between piece and user makes the collection one that you want to take part in and enjoy rather than just walk past.

#8: Another Terra -Multiple Designers

Studio Besau – Marguerre – Greenhouse To Go

Terrariums are really in at the moment, and its hard not to love them. This piece, “Greenhouse To Go”, is a really sweet example of work highlighting our newly reestablished attachment to the earth, and the need for something green and living around us. The show “Another Terra”, curated by Barbara Brondi and Marco Raino, asked designers the following question: “If you had to envisage life on some other habitable planet other than earth, what kind of minimal hand luggage would you take with you?” Since I have a strong connection to my own plant collection, I found this piece both amusing and at the same time a reminder of what it is that makes us think of home.

#9: The Front Room

Shown at: Ca’Laghetto

Multiple designers.

I really wanted to shed some light on the projects created by my colleagues for this show rather than on my own. The Front Room was self-initiated and curated by Matylda Krzykowski and Marco Gabriele Lurosso. The show consisted of works from OS&OOS, Studio Like This, Miya Kondo, Dana Cannam, Lex Pott, Phil Cuttance, David Derksen, Earnest Studio, Daphna Laurens, Meike Meijers and Franziska Wernicke, amongst others.

The Syzgy Lamps by OS&OOS were a huge hit. Using the astronomical term coined by NASA, this duo created beautiful pieces that mimicked the behaviour of three celestial bodies.

“Room Moment C4” by Franziska Wernicke is one of a series of rugs using a unique colour gradation that gives the impression of a change in the rug’s dimensions. Earnest Studio created a series of stools that play with the conventional method of producing upholstered furniture by removing the stages of waste, and instead featuring the excess as an aesthetic feature.

#10: Duomo Cathedral

Although it never changes, this grandiose piece of architecture never loses appeal. Having taken nearly six centuries to complete, the Duomo is the fourth largest cathedral in the world and is a must see every year at Milan.