Celestial Proceedings sculpture by Audrey Large

Audrey Large named emerging designer of the year at Dezeen Awards 2023

French designer Audrey Large has been named emerging designer of the year at the Dezeen Awards 2023 ceremony.

The Designers of the Year category rewards the best emerging and established talent across architecture, interiors and design. It recognises those whose innovative work has made a notable impact on the industry.

Large was awarded the prize at the Dezeen Awards 2023 party last week, which was hosted in partnership with Bentley.

 

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Audrey Large was named emerging designer of the year at Dezeen Awards 2023

Large is a French interdisciplinary designer based in Rotterdam, who works at the intersection of digital and object design.

She completed her master's in Social Design at Design Academy Eindhoven in 2017 and later went on to join the Jan Van Eyck Academy artist residency programme in 2019.

Portrait of Audrey Large
Large is a French interdisciplinary designer based in Rotterdam

Large is known for presenting furniture and objects with swirling organic forms that are drawn by hand before being realised using a 3D printer.

She describes her design approach as "bridging image-manipulation techniques and digital manufacturing to create otherworldly objects that challenge the perception of reality."

Large took home the award at the Dezeen Awards 2023 ceremony last week, which was held at Shoreditch Electric Light Station in London and was attended by shortlisted studios along with past and present judges.

"Large has developed a unique visual language that involves 3D-printing objects based on hand drawings, which she digitally distorts," the judges said.

"Ranging from furniture and homeware to abstract sculptures, the resulting pieces blur the line between art and design, digital and handcraft," they continued.

"After putting on her biggest solo show to date at this year's Milan design week with Nilufar Gallery, the judges are excited to see what boundaries Large will push next."

Metallic purple sculpture by Audrey Large
The Implicit Surfaces series featured 3D-printed sculptures with amorphous forms

Notable projects by Large include Implicit Surfaces, a series of 3D-printed sculptures informed by digital graphics that aim to explore the relationship between both the virtual and physical worlds.

The collection, which was was on show at Nilufar Gallery during this year's Milan design week, features iridescent purple, green and yellow amorphous sculptures that resemble molten lava.

Dusky Waters of Dripping Disasters water fountain
Dusky Waters of Dripping Disasters is a digitally crafted water fountain

Large has also designed a digitally sculpted water fountain called Dusky Waters of Dripping Disasters.

The sculpture features surfaces that evolve over time, transitioning into varying shades of blue as ink-infused water flows along its contours.

Moments of Transfer lamp
The Moments of Transfer lighting series comprises 3D-printed lamps

Other work includes the lighting series Moments of Transfer, in which textures from images are applied to 3D-printed lamps using water-dipping processes.

The process involves objects being dipped into water with a layer of floating ink or paint, which adheres to the object's surface to enable the application of intricate patterns or textures onto the object's surface.

Large was up against four other designers in the emerging designer of the year category, including London-based designer Rio Kobayashi and design studio Johanna Seelemann.

The Designers of the Year were nominated and shortlisted by Dezeen Awards judges and Dezeen's editorial team.

A total of 31 studios, spanning 14 countries including South Africa, India, Nigeria and Mexico, were shortlisted for awards in six distinct Designers of the Year categories.

Each category's winner will be showcased in an exclusive video produced by Dezeen and sponsored by Bentley. The videos will be unveiled on Dezeen from November 30 to December 7.

Dezeen Awards 2023

Dezeen Awards celebrates the world's best architecture, interiors and design. Now in its sixth year, it has become the ultimate accolade for architects and designers across the globe. The annual awards are in partnership with Bentley Motors, as part of a wider collaboration that will see the brand work with Dezeen to support and inspire the next generation of design talent.