SALONE DEL MOBILE Milano

14-19 April 2010

www.exquisedesign.com

presents

GALLERYParis,France

Acquario Civico di Milano

STRAF hotel

“Preliminaries”:

design at the threshold of love.

As an extension of a project on the theme of love, Slott gallery and Exquise Design® have invited four designers to play out their fantasies, giving shape and meaning, breathing life into their conceptions of preliminaries. They have approached this subject from different and complementary viewpoints that together offer a panorama of creation like no other seen before.

Arik Levy unveils his work on the spoken and the unspoken of intimate relations with his series of installations entitled “Confes-sions” that includes, among other elements, an examination of the iconography of sexuality alongside a kind of modern home confessional. As the theme of the exhibition required that contribu-tions be solicited from both male and female designers in equal measure, it is fascinating to observe the ways in which, by sharing their visions, they complete and engage each other. matali cras-set and Florence Jaffrain carry us away to underwater paradises with their respective works “Aequorea” and “Belly Love”, creating soft and sensual shapes that run up against Mathieu Lehanneur’s torrid yet petrified flames in his “The Power of Love”.

Visitors will also be struck by the singular visions of the four designers, each of which offers a completely different approach to objects. With his Confessions, Arik Levy makes the object a tool for communication, standing in for the fears and concerns we often find it so difficult to voice. Straddling the boundaries of

design and architecture, matali crasset approaches the object as a space. Mathieu Lehanneur, working from a more sculptural perspective, raises the object to the heights of allegory (of the couple), at the same time endowing it with a mediating role. Last but not least, Florence Jaffrain tends to make the object an end in itself, by creating a sofa that might almost be perceived as playing the role of the lover, becoming an object of desire.

CONTACT

Gallery SLOTTc/o Exquise Design12, rue du Château Landon75010 Paris, FranceTel: +33 (0) 140 360 718www.exquisedesign.com

PressMichela Pelizzari press@p-s.it tel+ 39 328 884 0777

Federica Salasala.federica@gmail.comtel: +39 348 530 4588

GalleristPaola Bjaringerpaola@exquisedesign.comtel: +33 (0) 670 524 384

In April 2010 during Milan Mobile, Gallery Slott (Paris, France) un-veils four unique pieces of furniture : Confession, The Power of Love, Aequorea and Belly Love. matali crasset and Florence Jaffrain will be located at the Acquario Civico di Milano, Arik Levy and Mathieu Lehanneur at Hotel Straf.

Acquario Civico di Milano

Viale Gadio, 2 - 20121 MILAN11am to 10pmmetro access: M2 Lanza

Opening partyWednesday April 14, 20106pm - midnightDJ SET & PERFORMANCE

COURTESY OF KETOS 2.1

Born in Châlons-en-Champagne, France on 28 July 1965, matali crasset was trained as an industrial designer. As exemplified by one

of her seminal objects, the “colonne d’hospitalité” entitled “Quand Jim monte à Paris” (a space-saving guest bed complete with light and alarm clock that rolls and zips up into a column for storage), she invents her own methodology through which she questions the status quo, the codes that govern our daily lives so as to better free herself of them and experiment with new ideas. In this way, she develops new typologies organized around principles such as modularity, appropriation, flexibility and networking. Her work,

which came into its own in the 1990s, encapsulated in a refusal of pure form, is conceived as research in action, built on hypotheses rather than principles. matali moves in a range of eclectic realms, from handcrafts to electronic music, from the textile industry to fair trade. Her creations have thus led her along paths she might not have initially imagined, from set design to furniture, from graphic to interior design. matali spent her childhood in a small village in northern France, on a farm where work and life were intimately connected.

Aequorea

Consisting of a platform topped by a corolla, an umbrella-shaped structure, “Aequorea” was inspired by the majesty of the jellyfish,

with the title of the work taken from its species name. Jellyfish and

spineless are often mentioned in the same breath and it is true that the creature’s structure is very fluid. If we take away the water, we

are left with just a gelatinous skin. Emulating the grace of this ma-rine animal, matali crasset uses her materials parsimoniously and concentrates her work on the empty space, the site of the lovers’ encounter. “Aequorea” is more space than object.

Contemporary architecture has decompartmentalized the home to allow more malleable pathways better adapted to the need for speed, but also respite, in modern life. And yet, for the same rea-son, we have lost many of our private places. matali embraces the challenge of recreating an environment conducive to intimacy while conceiving a structure that is modular enough to reap the benefits of

openness in architectural spaces. “Aequorea“ is therefore situated midway between design and architecture, on an intermediate plane. Her work necessarily brings to mind the improvised cubbyholes we built in our bedrooms, using sheets, chairs and any number of other objects, when we were children. We recall the excitement we felt when we snuggled into this space, away from the world of adults and their rules. We could exchange secrets, invent our own little games and – since, after all, the subject here is preliminaries, or foreplay – sometimes play doctor as well.

Limited Edition

Dimensions: H 250 x Diam 190 cmMaterials: Metal structure, plastic, foam cushion with coated fabric, ultraviolet Wood’s lamp

Aequorea

photos © Florian KleinefennAequorea

By enclosing the couple within a curtain of ropes, “Aequorea” has the same effect on adults, with elegance as an added bonus. It’s all about intimacy, the need to be cut off from the rest of the world and redis-cover the other face-to-face and alone. To reinforce this severed link with everyday life, matali has placed an ultraviolet Wood’s lamp inside the corolla. Colour perception is thus transformed and the lovers drift into a dreamlike state, a new dimension. And to make matters even more interesting, matali draws inspiration from the parallel worlds of Barbarella, the comic book heroine imagined by Jean-Claude Forest, paying tribute to this lyrical and sensual universe. It is a space serv-ing as a reference: a quasi-aquatic, entirely fluid, space that softens

contours, an invitation to let go completely and get in touch with inner feelings. This nod to the first liberated female comic book character

also carries a feminist message, not a protest but instead a paean to the liberation of the body.

If matali’s design could be seen as taking another stand it would certainly be a desire to break with routine and standardized behaviour. We need to upend our daily rituals. “Aequorea”’s rounded surface is in direct contrast to the trivial rectangle of the bed, and thus allows bodies to move more freely. The contoured edge that defines the borders of the

platform creates a kind of circular pillow opening myriad possibilities for lovers in all 360 degrees. Although matali challenges our habits, she does not consider ritual as a bad thing in itself. On the contrary! Rituals are essential to provide rhythm for our lives. It is the rote, humdrum, here-we-go-again quality that snuffs out the spark kindled by our shared moments. We need to learn how to renew our rituals so that they continue to enrich our lives: In order to ensconce oneself within “Aequorea”, the ropes need to be pulled gradually to the exterior of the corolla, and the same operation must be performed in reverse in order to open it again. In both cases, space is being modified, creating a ritual that marks the

beginning and the end of an intimate moment. In sum, Aequorea works like an air lock that disconnects us from our everyday lives in order to awaken the sensuality within. Far from accessorizing foreplay, matali’s triumphant design gives it a new playing field.

Aequorea

photos © FLORIAN KLEINEFENN

Aequorea

Can furniture offer everyday utility while at the same time awakening the senses? To answer this question, Florence Jaffrain joins playful design with a sharing process, thus creating a platform bridging several disciplines based on the theme of the encounter, with oneself as well as with others.

In this manner, she invests each of her creations with a joyful, modular practicality that is in a constant state of becoming. Florence’s unstinting generosity compels her to push back boundaries and her work, always instilled with real humanity, becomes the focus of a perpetual quest for meaning.

She explores the freedom of the body and the mind, thus crafting new forms for our living spaces. Codes are redefined to open us to new bodily

postures, awakening our senses and causing us to rediscover the other in new ways. Florence’s creations may also be distinguished by their pri-mary function: “I revel in all forms of lived intensity, whether intellectual or physical,” declares the artist, who says her purpose is to “create an object that may be loved. I conceive objects that merge different disciplines and concerns, but that are manufactured according to varying criteria. Today my objects are more than mere creations – they constitute a philosophy in and of themselves: playful, yes, but also ecological, sustainable, eco-recyclable, locally produced, with a portion of profit donated to humanitarian causes.”

Florence is interested in our deep satisfaction and fulfilment in the present

moment, through an approach that respects beings and forms. Florence lives and works in Paris, France

Belly Love

In its shape, “Belly Love” is directly inspired by Sarcophyton elegans, a soft coral found in the Indian Ocean. Transiting from the tropical reef to the Parisian living room, it retains its elegance and increases its comfort quotient, becoming both paradise of the senses and vessel for the body.

Thanks to a new textile material especially created by ENSAIT in Roubaix using photoluminescent components and microcapsules incorporated in the fibre, “Belly Love” recreates the magical luminosity of the ocean

bottom, while diffusing the pleasant fragrance of essential oils. The sarcophyton’s tentacles become soft bristles inviting caresses and when we rest our head on the piece, the beating of its heart gives an idyllic cadence to this waking dream. “Belly Love” breathes as well, and we do well to wonder if it is a mechanism hidden under the memory foam or a genuine life force that animates this membrane. Coral or sofa, syn-thetic or organic, this question does not come to mind when we behold the object: through the perfection of its technical aspects, Florence is able to make us entirely chase away such concerns. Magic takes over, transporting us into the realm of poetry.

Incidentally, Florence tell us that when she created the mould in collabo-ration with Géraldine Blin, the shape of the heart appeared of its own accord on the underside of the piece… “Belly Love” was born!

It is a belly because it takes us back to the sensorial ideal of our life in the womb and also because it breathes with the ease and tranquillity of a protective masculine figure.

Belly LovePrototype

Materials: Soft foam, photoluminescent sensory fabric Dimensions : H 90 x W 170 x D 170 cm

Belly Love

photos © florence jaffrain/tnut

Belly Love

photos © FLORIAN KLEINEFENN

“Belly Love” therefore combines male and female principles, retaining the best of both. It evokes to some extent Plato’s mythical ideal of the Androgyne. “Belly Love” cultivates the paradox of being both asexual and sensual. Its shape envelops you, so that you may give way to the protection of its breast. You don’t lie down on this sofa, you coil up on it. You attune your breathing to its own respiration until you and the object are one.

All that remains is the suggestion of a breath ebbing and flowing like a wave,

irresolute on the coral reefs. “Belly Love” has the aspect of an erogenous mucous membrane, soft and sensual, that carries us along with it in an inebriation of the senses. Ultimately, this sensorial sofa is not a concept accessible to reason. It needs to be conceived instead as a sensation of total well-being, abandon, letting go, a harmony that stimulates every fibre

of our being, awakening desire and imagination.

“Belly Love” by Florence Jaffrain is to contemporary design what Pygmalion’s Galatea is to mythological sculpture: the sensorial sofa was only intended to awaken desire, but it has assumed a life of its own to become itself an object of desire.

Belly Love

photos © FLORIAN KLEINEFENN

STRAF hotel

Via San Raffaele, 3 - 20121 MILAN10am to 11pmmetro access: M1 M3 Duomo

Opening PartyThursday April 15, 20106pm - 11pmDJ SET

Designer, technician, artist, photographer, filmmaker, Levy’s skills are

multi-disciplinary and his work can be seen in prestigious galleries and museums worldwide. Best known publicly for his furniture design for global companies, installations and limited editions, Levy neverthe-less feels that “the world is about people, not tables and chairs.” Born in 1963 in Israel, Levy moved to Europe in 1988 and currently works in Paris with his twenty-strong team of designers and graphic artists forming Ldesign. Under the vision of Levy and his associate Pippo Lionni, the firm also produces brand identities, packaging, signage,

exhibition, interior design and more. His formation was unconventional with surfing and his graphic design studio took up much of his time

back home. However, following studies at the Art Center Europe in Switzerland where he gained a distinction in Industrial Design in 1991, Levy’s first international success was winning the Seiko Epson Inc.

competition, which jettisoned him into the public consciousness as a “thinking” designer. After a stint in Japan where Levy consolidated his ideas producing products and pieces for exhibitions, the designer returned to Europe where he contributed his artistry to another field:

contemporary dance and opera by way of set design. The creation of his firm then meant a foray back to his first love, Art and industrial design,

as well as other branches of his talents. Respected for his furniture and light designs on all continents, Levy also creates hi-tech clothing lines and accessories for firms in the Far East. Considering himself now more

of a “feeling” designer, Arik Levy continues to contribute substantially to our interior and exterior milieu, his work including public sculpture - his signature Rock pieces - as well as complete environments that can be adapted for multi use. “Life is a system of signs and symbols,” he says, “where nothing is quite as it seems.”

Confession

Confession Limited Edition 8 ex.+ 2 artist’s proofs + 2 prototypes

Confessional in two parts, left and right

Materials: black enamelled MDF, matte chestnut finish,

feather cushion, felt clothDimensions: H 210 x W 86 x D 87 cm

This object in two parts, a kind of modern home confessional, is without a doubt the central piece among these installations. By borrowing one of the Catholic Church’s best communications tools, Arik Levy in no way aims to commit blasphemy. All religions were created to cement social relationships. “Confession” is neither religious nor anti-religious. It must be considered simply as a social object. Arik encourages us to play with social codes, delivering an entirely revisited confessional adapted to the modern home. He reworks the proportions to create an object with a seating area larger than the traditional version. Derision, a feeling of being protected, humility – the effect of the piece changes depending on the circumstances. In addition, this confessional is perfectly modular, offering infinite possibilities for interaction by playing

with the orientation and distance between the two parts.

Confessions Installations

photos © arik levy

Confession

photos © FLORIAN KLEINEFENN

photos © FLORIAN KLEINEFENN

Confession

photos © arik levy

Like no other, Mathieu Lehanneur is recognised for his modernist designs that harmonize advanced technology and nature as features of his in-numerable creations. By using ecological elements such as plants and seaweed, Lehanneur has ingeniously fashioned a number of exploratory design projects within the pharmaceutical, biological and astrophysical industries. Amongst his list of achievements is the dB, a rolling ball that monitors noise levels and automatically rolls to the source and emits white noise to reduce sound disturbance. In recognition of his innovations, Lehanneur was awarded the Carte Blanche by the VIA (Valorization of Innovation in Furnishing) and the Grand Prix de la Création by the city of Paris. Recently, he received the Talents du Luxe et de la Création award and the Best Invention Award (USA) for « Andrea », a living air filter that

improves indoor air quality. His projects are part of several permanent museum collections including those of MoMA New York, MoMA San Francisco, FRAC and Musée des Arts Décoratif in Paris. Born in 1974 in Rochefort, France, Lehanneur graduated from ENSCI-Les Ateliers (French National School for Industrial Design) in 2001, and established his own studio to exclusively focus upon industrial design and interior architecture. Impressed by science’s ability to investigate human biology, Mathieu has since dedicated his life to explore interactions between the body and the environment, living systems and the scientific world. In

2009, Lehanneur founded in USA « Everything But The Molecules », a company specialising in design solutions for the pharmaceutical indus-try. Between 2004 and 2008, Lehanneur was nominated post-graduate manager of the Design and Research program at ESADSE / Cité du Design Saint-Étienne.

The Power of Love

In collaboration with François Brument, flux designer

Limited Edition 8 ex.+ 2 artist’s proofs + 2 prototypes

Materials : Stereolithography, metallization, electronic circuit board, headphonesDimensions : H 59 cm x W 38 cm x D 40 cm (fire)

“The Power of Love” consists of two separate sets of headphones con-nected to a fire, thus three elements symbolizing two lovers joined by their

love. The object conveys formidable sculptural power… but it remains an object. Its representative value serves its purpose. “The Power of Love” is a type of lovemaking accessory, a foreplay toy.

Each of the lovers puts on a set of headphones. In itself this is a token of eroticism for Mathieu Lehanneur’s generation, all of whom fondly remember the cult scene in the film La Boum, where a young man seduces Sophie Marceau by having her listen to a sentimental ballad on his Walkman while everyone else is dancing to a powerful up-tempo rock song. The same principle is used in “The Power of Love”: each of the listeners hears the tracks recorded as representing his or her intimate universe. Hence the lovers are not in sync and this is very important, as desire is born of difference. It is the glistening fire that continually as-serts its presence, imposes its heat and creates the union. The lovers see in it the perfection of their original love that they seek to rediscover and stoke.

The Power of Love

Power of Love

photos © FLORIAN KLEINEFENN

When two individuals fall in love, they create a new universe together without at the same time losing touch of their own, a sleight of hand whereby 1+1=3. Love’s power is rooted in a crossing of boundaries, the creation of a new entity. Mathieu represents it as a flame shooting up at the

meeting point of two sound tracks that continue to exist separately. This flame calls to mind the burning bush in the Bible, God revealing himself

to Moses. If this burning bush is a theophany, an appearance of God to man, what Mathieu offers us may perhaps be termed an “erotophany”: this fire represents the emergence of love between the lovers.

We are all fascinated by the very moment of the big bang creating the lovers’ universe: it is a moment of extreme intensity in which the potency of love is compressed before it explodes. At this embryonic stage, much still lies ahead in order to convert this purely abstract entity into con-crete form. Still amorphous at this point, love is merely an eager force. Consequently, the challenge faced by the artist was to fix an element as

unstable as fire to create an object that would allow this elusive power

to be captured. However, from an aesthetic viewpoint, this piece does not bear the mark of the designer. He designed neither the headphones nor the flame; in fact, he merely chose them. The flame is generated by a

computer using an algorithm creating special effects, then laser finished

by a robotic machine. As for the headphones, they are the standard type available in stores. The importance of choice in the creative process – more precisely, the aptitude for eliminating the unnecessary – is certainly appreciated, but choosing among the products of our mind is not the same thing as selecting elements of reality. In this sense, “The Power of Love” is a work closer to photography than design. The designer aims to give the object the possibility for self-expression.

Power of Love

photos © mathieu lehanneur & françois brument, flux designer

“The Power of Love” is a captured, immortalized flame, a kind of three-

dimensional snapshot. This is certainly not the first time that love has

been represented through the use of flames. But that doesn’t make it any

less relevant! Mathieu does not thrust upon us his own personal opinions. Instead, he chooses an accessible language and his art is entirely evident in the care with which he employs this language.

The image of inflamed love is associated with a stroke of lightning or a

thunderbolt in French and Italian. Can we understand the revelation of love? It is a fire without perceptible spark, its origin remains a mystery.

Science has developed many theories on the birth of love by way of chemistry. The flame of the burning bush also has no visible origin. Per-haps science understands this phenomenon but no one would want to believe in anything but the magic of the moment.

Critics will certainly continue to debate whether a design object may be considered a work of art, but what Mathieu has been able to achieve here is a work of art with our own lives. He invents an intimate and profoundly poetic moment like no other.

Power of Love

photos © FLORIAN KLEINEFENN

In collaboration with François Brument, flux designer

In 2004 François graduates from ENSCI/Les Ateliers with a project named « In-Formation, digital paradigm ». Since then he continues his research on the poten-tial of digital creation in the design field :

moving between multimédia and industrial productions, François substitutes computer programing with drawing and develops a kind of design in perpetual mutation. The technological implication of his work has enabled him to collaborate with the EDF research and development depart-ment. François also transmits his original approach to the students of the Ecole Supérieure d’Art et de Design of Saint-Etienne where he teaches conception practice and digital making. Since 2005 his work has been exhibited in France and internationally and won him an acquisition by the Fonds National d’Art Contemporains in 2008 and 2009. For the Préliminaires exhibition Mathieu Lehanneur called upon François to model the petrified flame of “ The Power of Love “.

Power of Love

photos © mathieu lehanneur & françois brument, flux designer

Power of Love

photos © FLORIAN KLEINEFENN

Slott is a perpetual work in progress. Strategically located between two trans-European railway stations at the heart of Paris, gallery Slott* is the culmination of years of efforts by its Franco-Swedish founder Paola Bjaringer, who has sought out talents all over the world. These experiences sparked the desire to create a cross-disciplinary, decompartmentalized place, conceived as both a residency and exhibition space for artists. Gallery Slott opened to the public in December 2009 with Preliminaries, an exhibition bringing together works by the designers matali crasset, Arik Levy, Mathieu Lehanneur and Florence Jaffrain. In April 2010 during Milan Mobile, Gallery Slott unveils four unique pieces : Confession, The Power of Love, Aequorea and Belly Love. The women designers will be located at the Acquario Civico di Milano, and the men at Hotel Straf.

THE GALLERY WIDE OPEN TO THE WORLD OF CREATION

* an original creation by architect Joseph Caspari, in collaboration with Marc Möhlmann and Donatien de Villanova, interior architects. This place like no other, located at 12 rue du Château Landon 75010 Paris, comprises a gallery, an apartment and an atelier on the courtyard side as well as a window facing the street..

CONTACT

Gallery SLOTTc/o Exquise Design12, rue du Château Landon75010 Paris, FranceTel: +33 (0) 140 360 718www.exquisedesign.com

PressMichela Pelizzari press@p-s.it tel+ 39 328 884 0777

Federica Salasala.federica@gmail.comtel: +39 348 530 4588

GalleristPaola Bjaringerpaola@exquisedesign.comtel: +33 (0) 670 524 384

© exquisedesign/marc-antoine bulot