Wallpaper* has once again taken up residence in the sweeping Curva space on the first floor of the Triennale di Milano for Milan Design Week 2025, with a showcase of global emerging talents from the world of design. Material Alchemists is both the title of the exhibition and the collective noun for Wallpaper’s Class of 2025: each designer or studio demonstrates a proclivity for material exploration and expression in their practice.
Our exhibitors are a truly global collective. Hailing from Antwerp and Adelaide to Vancouver and Vietnam, their creative identities, born through upbringing, education and professional practice, all feed into their lenses on life. A cultural narrative underpins much of their work, but it is the matter of material that we have zeroed in on. Working with everything from paper and plastic to rope and raffia, there is an inherent curiosity in our exhibitors about how matter can be coaxed, manipulated and transformed. We witness an interplay between expression, process and function, with exhibits spanning a spectrum from craft and artworks to high-performing quotidian objects. As such, Material Alchemists reflects our current behaviour in design. It is no longer an industry, but rather a broad term that encompasses every stage of the creation process.
Our partner for Material Alchemists is StoneX, a family company and global purveyor and patron of the world’s rarest natural stone. StoneX has built close relationships with the world’s finest quarry families, bringing to light their unique provenance and proud traditions. In partnership with geologists, it reveals the metamorphic stories of different stone varieties to build appreciation beyond the material’s surface value, guiding us to understand what makes a particular stone attractive, as well as helping us build an emotional connection with it. Through pioneering and careful refinement, StoneX ensures each stone’s natural properties are preserved and expressed. In the company’s own words, it is ‘committed to elevating the true value of stone through collaboration with pioneering artists, exploring the lexicon of this one-of-a-kind material’.
Our exhibition has been designed by our longstanding collaborators at DWA Design Studio, with plinths using Polygood® panels from The Good Plastic Company, a leading manufacturer of surface materials made from fully recycled and recyclable plastic. All the materials used in the exhibition design will be repurposed.
Exhibitors:
Abid Javed / Agnes Studio / Ajay Shah / Alfred Lowe / Astraeus Clarke / Dina Nur Satti / Federico Stefanovich / Jiri Krejcirik / Kodai Iwamoto / Lennart Engels / Liam Fleming / Marc Sweeney / Michelle Jiaxin Huang / Miranda Keyes / Morii Design / Olorunfemi Adewuyi / Pauline Leprince / Sheyang Li / Steffany Tran / Yoon Shun
'Material Alchemists' is at the Curva space in the Triennale di Milano from April 7th - 13th and is open to the public.
-
The world’s best swimwear brands, according to Wallpaper*From architectural precision to a sense of ease and luxury, our comprehensive guide to the world’s best swimwear brands – for both men and women – will help you find the perfect beach attire this summer
-
Aesop’s Queer Library bookmarks brilliant literature, no purchase requiredReturning to London’s Soho, 3-6 July 2025, the Queer Library pop-up offers complimentary books by LGBTQIA+ authors and allies
-
Wangechi Mutu's powerful sculptures take over the palatial interiors of Rome's Galleria BorgheseThe Kenyan-born artist is the first living woman to have a solo exhibition at the villa
-
Dine within a rationalist design gem at the newly opened Cucina TriennaleCucina Triennale is the latest space to open at Triennale Milano, a restaurant and a café by Luca Cipelletti and Unifor, inspired by the building's 1930s design
-
20 emerging designers shine in our ‘Material Alchemists’ filmWallpaper’s ‘Material Alchemists’ exhibition during Milan Design Week 2025 spotlighted 20 emerging designers with a passion for transforming matter – see it now in our short film
-
Delve into the Wallpaper* Design Directory 2025, on sale nowIn the July issue of Wallpaper*, find a photographic love letter to Milan Design Week, plus the best new furniture, lighting, kitchens, bathrooms and more
-
Tokyo design studio We+ transforms microalgae into coloursCould microalgae be the sustainable pigment of the future? A Japanese research project investigates
-
Delvis (Un)Limited turns a Brera shopfront into a live-in design installationWhat happens when collectible design becomes part of a live performance? The Theatre of Things, curated by Joseph Grima and Valentina Ciuffi, invited designers to live with their work – and let the public look in
-
Naoto Fukasawa sparks children’s imaginations with play sculpturesThe Japanese designer creates an intuitive series of bold play sculptures, designed to spark children’s desire to play without thinking
-
Inside the Shakti Design Residency, taking Indian craftsmanship to Alcova 2025The new initiative pairs emerging talents with some of India’s most prestigious ateliers, resulting in intricately crafted designs, as seen at Alcova 2025 in Milan
-
Faye Toogood comes up roses at Milan Design Week 2025Japanese ceramics specialist Noritake’s design collection blossoms with a bold floral series by Faye Toogood
