Opened in January on South Kensington’s Launceston Place, See••Ds is one of the most interesting design projects to have emerged in London in the past months. Owner Natalie Azzi has worked with Milanese studio Actant Visuelle to create a design that combines conceptual visual research with a retail dimension.
The latest effort of the gallerist features a collection of pottery pieces by Martino Gamper and 'friends’. Titled 'No Ordinary Love', the selling exhibition features an array of ceramic shapes created by the Italian designer as well as associates such as Bethan Laura Wood, Max Lamb, Tiago Almeida, Gemma Holt and Silo Studio, among others. The group of designers, who had been friends for a long time but had never collaborated on a project, took to an English workshop to create objects in clay, working as a collective and presenting work united by a sun-shaped logo.
The exhibition questions the concept of authorship and its importance in the design panorama. The curation (by Gamper in collaboration with the duo behind Actant Visuelle) asks several questions relating to the pieces’ signatures, wondering whether authorship is in fact more important than an object’s aesthetic or function.
See••Ds owner Natalie Azzi worked with Milanese studio Actant Visuelle to create a design that combines conceptual visual research with a retail dimension
To create a conversation around this concept, the three curators devised a series of rules for the collection, the first of which was unveiled on the exhibition’s opening. Each piece has been signed by the collective, and sold at a starting price. A buyer can accept this price and the somewhat anonymous origin of a piece, or request to know the author but pay double the starting figure.
The second part of the exhibition features further new projects by the designers, using a variety of media and materials, and expressing each creator’s aesthetic. These include a series of solid, hand-bent aluminium chairs and furniture by Max Lamb, neon light shapes by Jochen Holz, an etched glass cocktail set by Bethan Laura Wood and steel furniture by Faudet Harrison.
This double project strengthens the gallery’s engagement with design on a deeper level, creating a broader movement while at the same time presenting new work by an exciting roster of designers.
The group of designers, who had been friends for a long time but had never collaborated on a project, took to a workshop to create objects in clay, working as a collective and presenting work united by a sun-shaped logo
Each piece has been signed by the collective, and sold at a starting price. A buyer can accept this and the anonymous origin of a piece, or request to know the author but pay double the starting figure
The second part of the exhibition features further new projects by the designers, using a variety of media and materials. Pictured left: an etched glass cocktail set by Bethan Laura Wood. Right: glass vases with moirè effects by Silo Studio
Neon table and pendant lights by Jochen Holz
Pictured left: a chair made of solid aluminium by Max Lamb. Right: a pot from Martino Gamper's Duo Tone Duo collection
Pictured left: Gemma Holt's jewellery. Right: a stained glass shelf by Silo Studio
A transient coffee table and shelving system by Faudet Harrison, made of brushed aluminium
INFORMATION
'No Ordinary Love – Martino Gamper with Friends' is on view until 20 January. For more information, visit the See••Ds website
ADDRESS
3 Launceston Place
London W8 5RL
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