Germans Ermičs takes over Riga’s Museum of Decorative Arts and Design with solo exhibition

Latvian designer Germans Ermičs established his studio in 2014, and has since become known for his unique use of colour. A solo exhibition at his hometown Riga (until 28 May 2023) highlights the designer’s key projects from his career, demonstrating his process and philosophy throughout a display of furniture, objects and artworks. 

Germans Ermičs presents ‘Gradual’ at Riga’s MDAD

Ermičs was first noticed by Milan gallerist Rossana Orlandi during his graduation show, as a student at Design Academy Eindhoven, and made his Milan Design Week debut with the gallery the following year.

Among Ermičs’ best known works are his ongoing series of glass objects, including chairs and desks, whose graduated chromatic transitions have made his work instantly recognisable. However, Ermičs is keen to point out, the use of colour in his work is not an aesthetic addition to the design, but part of the design itself and essential to his creative process. ‘In the realm of production of objects, the phase of colour application is normally seen as the final act of the process,’ he observes. ‘Instead of finishing a product by just painting it, I started designing from colour, wondering about what it would look like if I stretch, turn or fold the colour as if it was a three-dimensional shape.’

This process has resulted in widely acclaimed pieces such as his ‘Shaping Colour’ collection, which Ermičs has continued developing throughout his career (most recently with a series featuring blue and yellow shown at Design Miami/Basel 2021). The evolution of this approach led him to create a contemporary interpretation of the Japanese designer Shiro Kuramata's iconic ‘Glass Chair’, essentially comprising four glass panels in enchanting chromatic tones (the chair was a Wallpaper* favourite since its creation, also awarded with a Wallpaper* Design Award).

But Ermičs’ design explorations haven’t stopped at glass, with further projects that include rugs with CC-Tapis, and experiments featuring marble, lighting design and technology, as in the case of his collaboration with Bang & Olufsen on the occasion of Wallpaper* Handmade in 2019.  

The display at MDAD shows the breadth of Ermičs’ work so far, and his precise creative trajectory, while demonstrating the designer’s ability to experiment across media and without strict rules. 

Gradual by Germans Ermičs is on show at MDAD until 28 May 2023

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