RASSEGNA MIART 2019

02/06/2019 periodico magazines foglio sheet 2/2 pag. 12/13 H 1 June/2 June 2019 ★ FTWeekend 13 House Home Milan’sDimoregalleryshowedthesesixAfrica chairscreatedbyItaliandesignersTobiaScarpa andhiswifeAfrain1975forMaxalto,adivision ofB&BItalia.Tobia,sonofarchitectCarlo Scarpa,andAfrahaveworkedasaduosince the1960s.ThepostmodernistAfricachairs, withtheirwalnutframeandcognacleatherseat, aredecorativeandsculptural,butalso functionalandergonomic:theirseatstiltback towardsthecurved,bulbousbackrests,helping tocradlethehumanbody. K AfricachairsbyAfraand TobiaScarpaforMaxalto CreatedbyErcoleBarovier,chiefdesignerat glasswarecompanyBarovier&Tosoin Murano,Italy,thisflamboyantvasewas showcasedattheVeniceBiennalein1968. Muranohasbeenaglassmakingcentre sincethe13thcentury,buttheVenice BiennaleanddesignshowtheMilan Triennial,whichwasfoundedin1923,ledto aglassmakingrenaissanceinItaly,saysMarc Heiremans,whoseeponymous,Antwerp- basedgalleryshowedthispiece.“To beselectedforthesefairs,every piecehadtobeoutstanding,which drovecreativity,”hesays.Thevase wasmadebyheatingandfusing opalescentglasscaneswithcoloured squaresofmurrineglasstoforma slabbeforeshaping. I VasebyErcoleBarovierforBarovier&Toso AnAmericanarchitectand woodworkerofJapanesedescent, GeorgeNakashimawasapioneerofthemid- centuryAmericanstudiofurnituremovement, whichfocusedonhandcraftingone-offpieces offurnitureusingnaturalmaterials.This oftenmadeavirtueofthematerials’organic qualities—Nakashimahimselfsoughtout woodwithknotsandpronouncedwoodgrain. Thiswall-mountedsideboard,createdin 1958,istoppedbyAmericanblackwalnut withasubtlyfree-formedge.Shownby FrankfurtgalleryFrankLandau,ithasthree slidingdoorsconcealingthreeshelves. Nakashima,alsoknownformakinghuge tableswithraw,unfinishededges,later workedforprestigiousUSmanufacturers suchasKnoll. M Wall-mounted sideboardby GeorgeNakashima DesignerPaoloBuffa collaboratedwithItalian manufacturerErediMarellito createthesechairsin1955.Eredi Marellialsohasagallery,which showedthechairsatObject. AccordingtoMicheleMarelli, grandsonofthecompany’s founder,Buffawasa“refined” designer,whoprioritised aestheticsoverfunctionality:“A chair’sseatisonaverage45cm fromthefloor.Theseare muchlower—35cmhigh. Designedtogoeithersideof afireplace,justtorelaxin, theyweremadetolook beautiful.”Buffafavoured rarefiedmaterials:theframes aremadeoflemon-treewood. M ChairsbyPaoloBuffaforErediMarelli IllustriousDanishfurnituredesignerHans WegnercreatedtheoakJH-603chairwith itswhimsicalcanvasupholsteryin1962, anditwasexhibitedthatyearatthe CopenhagenCabinetmakers’Guild exhibition.Atthetime,Danish cabinetmakerscollaboratedcloselywith Denmark’savant-gardedesigners,andthis piecewasmanufacturedbyJohannes Hansen.AtObject,thechairwasexhibited byGalerieFeldtofCopenhagen,whichhas nicknameditthe“ponytailchair”in responsetothefollowingcommentina newspaperreviewofthe1962exhibition: “Therewerethosewhopaidmore attentiontothedaintyponytailhairdoof theheadcushionthantothesuperbskill withwhichthechairhadbeenmade.” B JH-603chairbyHansWegner