currently
17.04 - 23.04.2023

Paper Trail

As we come to terms with the urgent need to reinvent our material dependence in order to reshape our planet’s future, one has to wonder what role design can play in rebalancing the equation.

And if one had to guess what the greatest impact a change can have, it is probably in adopting a disruptive approach to material innovation. One that transforms our material dependance into a sustainable one.

For this edition of NOV in Milano, Swiss designers are tasked to be the agents of change and explore a new materiality centered on paper.

A sustainable, eco-responsible and biodegradable material, paper has been around for thousands of years. Although the earliest record of paper (a map) dates back to 200 BC, its invention, as we know it today, is believed to be attributed to a HAN Dynasty court official in 100 AD named Cai Lun.

Since then, paper has come a long way and many developments have made it a commonly used material for printing and packaging. Yet, the properties of paper make it adaptable for many other uses; paper is porous, flexible, foldable, scrunchable, durable, biocompatible and biodegradable. And contrary to popular belief, it is often considered one of the most environmentally friendly and sustainable materials.

For many years, designers have been revisiting the use of paper as a material with iconic projects like the Cabbage Chair

by Oki Sato (NENDO), the Honey-Pop Chair by Tokujin Yoshioka, while others have used the material for its poetic-like lightness such as the Ingo Maurer and Noguchi lamps to name a few.

Today, paper has the potential to become an innovative, sustainable, ecological solution that will hopefully tip the balance of our material dependence. PAPER TRAIL is a foray into that realm.

17.03 - 01.04.2023

Formal Fusion

As partners, collaborators, and designers Mara Tschudi and Sebastian Marbacher share a deep appreciation for shape, color, and expression. With Formal Fusion the independently working pair once again demonstrates that Beauty and Functionality are to be found in daily, accessible materials such as wood and paper. Take the stackable Basic Chair by Marbacher, sit down in front of Tschudi’s artwork, and hold in your hands their collaboration, the multicolor peppermill. The relationship is tangible, delightful, and smart. Coming together in this exhibition are mostly unique pieces which have been locally handcrafted by the two artists-designers. The aim was to fuse the individual competences and aesthetics to create a shared formal world. An ephemeral world which will continue in thought, practice, and ritual—sitting, looking, holding.

07.10 - 28.10.2022

Magnetic

The work “MAGNETIC” is inspired by underwater life structures merged with the
fascination of magnetic collisions and fracturing. The inner shape attracts coloured glass particles that collide, shatter and fuse together on the outside leaving semi-melted floating glass on its surface. The sculptures interact with each other through its figuration and nuances. This process of glass magnetism creates infinite patterns and surfaces revitalizing the rigid nature of the material.

This series is based on a larger research over the years on underwater life and its colours.

“In the past two years I started focusing on new approaches of the outer surface life of glass. Challenging the material I’m assembling an object that redefines the conventional way of working with glass. The applied colours in multiple layers interfuse
with the core of the object. This unique “glass - magnetism” of colliding, shattering and fusing particles makes each object and sculpture of this series unique.”