Love Design by various designers
Milan 09: Twenty designers including Arik Levy (above) and Matali Crasset (below) will exhibit sex toys and other objects on the theme of love in Milan next month, during the furniture fair.
The exhibition, called Love Design, consists of objects designed "to enhance (or distort) our pleasurable sense of togetherness". Top image ⓒ Ldesign. Above image ⓒ Driss Hadria.
The objects all appear in a book, also called Love Design, which is published in April. Above: Bedside Lamp by Matteo Cibic. Photo ⓒ Reed Young
Above: Fruit Condom by Quentin Simonin & Morgane Pluchon. Photo ⓒ Morgane & Quentin.
Love Design is at Galleria Nina Lumer, Milan, from22-27 April. Above: Quisàz-Quisàz by PUPSAM. Photo ⓒ Camille Villegas. Below: Georgia by Andrea Knecht. Photo ⓒ Driss Hadria.
Here's some text from organisers Exquise Design:
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LOVE DESIGN
20 DESIGNERS ABOUT LOVE
& RELEASE OF THE BOOK ‘LOVE DESIGN’ (DAAB PUBLISHING)
LOVE DESIGN is a project that explores the multifaceted relationship between design and positive feelings such as affection, desire, pleasure and romance, but also jealousy, distance, separation and pain. Published by Daab, Love Design the book presents a selection of unusual products, objects, graphics and textiles specifically designed to enhance (or distort) our pleasurable sense of togetherness in every possible (and impossible) way. During the Milan Furniture Fair 09, Love Design the exhibition presents the works of 20 outstanding designers taken from the book. The selection includes new products and special editions, in categories like fine textile, sound wave jewelry, blushing lighting, erotic tableware, lover’s furniture and more surprising delights. This exhibition questions the very meaning of the word ‘love’, the beginning and the ending of what binds us together and tears us apart.
Curators:
Paola Bjaringer (Paris, France)
Federica Sala (Milan, Italy)
APRIL 22-27, 2009
MILAN SALONE DEL MOBILE
GALLERIA NINA LUMER
VIA BOTTA 8, 20135 MILAN
Bedside Lamp by Matteo Cibic
Bedside Lamp designed by Matteo Cibic is part of the Bibelot Sexual series where objects that seemed to be just for the home are in fact high-spirited objects of pleasure. The bedside lamp hides a sextoy, the light color changes depending on whether the object is in use or not. Ceramic with platinum finish, medical-grade silicon dildo available in a variety of colors. matteo Cibic was born in Parma, Italy, in 1983. He has collaborated with Studio Camuffo, Fabrica, Pasquale Leccese’s Gallery, Reis Straver and Andres Raymondes, for whom he made videos for Microrealities presented at the Venice Biennale and at the Kunsthaus Muzeum in Graz, Austria. Since 2005 Cibic heads his own design studio focusing on advertising, fashion and product design. Matteo lives and works between Vicenza and Milan. Above photo ⓒ Francesco De Luca / HEADS.
The Lovely Sitting Ball by Claassen & Partner
Lovely Sitting Ball by Claassen & Partners is a limited edition of the Sitting Balls collection. It is a seating device filled with air that combines healthy sitting with demanding design in a unique way. The color used for this limited edition is magenta pink. Magenta is a gentle color, appearing in nature mostly in blooms. It symbolises idealism, graditude, engagement, and compassion, attributes which are all part of the theme of love design. The positive functional aspects of sitting balls have been commonly known for a long time: the support active sitting, strengthen the back muscles and effect a more upright posture of the spine than ordinary chairs. These are the reason why they are frequently recommended by doctors, ie. for working on the computer. Beyond that they can be used for other purposes, such as support during daily exercise. As positive as their utilisation profile may have been products such as the sitting ball were tended to look drab and were unable to disguise their origin as a “health product”.
Claassen & Partners have been working since 2005 with a range of leading clients from various different fields. designers sophie birkmayer and tammo claassen see their challenge not only in transforming function into form; they always also integrate their work into a larger, cultural context. they get a drift, incorporate it into a project and feed the result back into the cultural flow. the fields they work in range from corporate design to product- and interior design to digital solutions. the diversity of their projects allows them to sustain a fresh perspective and the high quality of the studios’ output. the core qualities of their work could be characterized as being consequent, straight, reduced to the essential and always focused on new materials and techniques. Above photo ⓒ Claassen & Partner.
8th Heaven designed by Matali Crasset is part of the Lovetoy Collection, a series of love objects imagined by women for women as an alternative to the traditional codes and conventions of the traditional sextoys. 8th Heaven is a lovetoy made of very fine silicon (100% hypoallergenic) with delicate metal spheres injected inside the soft material, creating a natural and soft vibration when in use. It functions as an extension of a woman’s hand, a physical extension of a woman’s fantasies. Comes in six different colors.
Matali Crasset - after graduating from École National Supérieure de Création Industrielle in Paris in 1991, Matali Crasset worked with the designer Denis Santachiara in Milan and with Philippe Starck in Paris. In 1997 she received the Grand Prix for design from the city of Paris and opened her own design studio in 1998, focusing her attention on domestic rituals and the creation of objects and furniture for Artemide, Authentics, Cristal Saint Louis, DIM, Domodinamica, Domeau&Peres, Dornbracht, Edra, Lexon, Moeve, Orangina, s.m.a.k. and Thomson. Matali lives and works in Paris, France.
1+1 by Frédérique Daubal
1+1 (LoveMe Before, LoveMe After) is a set of two pyjamas for her and him, 100% cotton with very fine digital printing of two human bodies. One set presents a couple together, the other a couple separated. Frédérique Daubal develops here a graphic play between textile and the body, between emotion and object. A subtle game on the image we have of ourselves and the couple we live (or not) in. Frédérique Daubal is a multidisciplinary designer, focusing on graphics and textiles. She lives and works in Paris, France. Above photo ⓒ Frédérique Daubal.
Souper Fin by Philippe Di Méo
Souper Fin is a collection of erotic tableware designed in collaboration with legendary tableware companies like Baccarat, Goyard, Christofle and Orfèvrerie d’Anjou. For each item Philippe Di Méo called upon famous food creatives to each devise a dish that complements each of the Souper Fin utensils. The newly designed pret-a-porter series of Souper Fin will be presented for the first time during the Love Design exhibition. Eating has never been so sexy.
Philippe Di Méo is a French designer, founder of the RESO design agency. He lives and works in Paris, France. Above photo ⓒ Reso Design.
Vessel One by Adam Farlie
vessel One designed by Adam Farlie is a bed that asks whether an object can become a substitute for a person. Vessel One was created to replace absent people through sound. This object is always listening, constantly recording the sounds made by those who have lain on it. Designed as a sensitive vessel that captures and contains the ‘audio-memories’ of past occupiers through sound. when Vessel One detects silence, it plays back sound memories at random. Sounds are recalled in the bed in the same way a Memory pops into the mind. One might lie in bed and hear past intimacies, infidelities or conversations from a number of days, weeks or even years ago. Vessel One is made of Corian.
Adam Farlie graduated in 2008 from the Design Academy Eindhoven. He specialises in emotional design. He lives and works in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Above photo ⓒ Adam Farlie.
Traces of an Imaginary Affair by Björn Franke
Traces of an Imaginary Affair designed by Björn Franke is a kit containing a set of nine tools which can be used to create an imaginary affair. These tools leave marks on the body, such as bite marks, carpert burns, bondage marks, love bites, scratches and bruises. In addition, probes of perfume, lipstick and haïr can be applied to either the body or clothes. This project broaches the subject of intentionally instigated jealousy in relationships, which ofetn serves to bolster self-esteen or to test the strength of partnerships. It was inspired by stories of people who used to fake évidence of victimisation or illnesses to receive attention from others.
Björn Franke investigates the social, psychological and philosophical implications of material culture and technological progress; in particular human behaviour, relationships and self-conception. By means of both socially and psychologically challenging projects, Franke explores how people can express and control their emotions, obsessions and fears through objects and technology. The projects vary in media and include conceptual products, photography and film.
Franke studied Industrial Design at the Muthesius Academy of Fine Arts and Design Products at the Royal College of Art where he is currently studying for a PhD in Design Interactions. He is also a Fellow at the Akademie Schloss Solitude. His work has been exhibited in London, Berlin, Amsterdam and Taipei and has been published in magazines and books worldwide. He lives and works in London.
Belly Button by Romain Gnidzaz & Marie Lambert
Belly Button designed by Romain Gnidzaz & Marie Lambert acts both as an object of desire and as a container. It is the fantasy of the finest gourmet. This project stages the belly button in a surprising way: as a curvy feminine piece of tableware. Cooking gestures are often limited to traditional codes of good behaviors and proper use of cutlery. Romain Gnidzaz and Marie Lambert wanted to break these rules and suggest a new kind of eating gestures and esthetics, more playful and sensual and most of all closer to food as physical and emotional experience. Made of Corian.
Romain Gnidzaz and Marie Lambert are multidisciplinary product designers, they live and work in Paris (France). Above photo ⓒ Romain Gnidzaz.
Bonshommes & Bonheur by Florence Jaffrain
Bonshommes designed by Florence Jaffrain are variable in size, between 2 and 15 meters, from the giant to the child. They mingle and embrace each other, they can be alone or together, on top of each other or linked. A reflection on our relationship to ourselves and others, Bonshommes offers an infinite variety of possibilities and combinations. Made of felt and organic mousse, topped with mesh or polyester, Bonshommes inspires the simple form with soft lines, tender like a sweet face to face. A seating, lying or embrassing time for yourslef to indulge in. Bonheur is part of the same modular seating family, friendly and loving.
Florence Jaffrain is a product designer based in Paris, France. She revisits everyday objects by assembling materials and playing with forms and light to suggest new kinds of objects that are simple and playful. Above photo ⓒ Florence Jaffrain.
Georgia by Andrea Knecht
Georgia designed by Andrea Knecht is part of the Lovetoy Collection, a series of love objects imagined by women for women as an alternative to the traditional codes and conventions of the traditional sextoy industry. Georgia is a lovetoy for women imagined as an extension of the finger. Its shape evokes the flower ‘Calla’ and was made in remembering of the artist Georgia O’Keeffe. Made of fine silicon 100% hypoallergenic.
Andrea Knecht, Swiss/Brazilian, born in 1971, lives and works in Lausanne, Switzerland. Ecole Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne (ECAL), Master in Industrial Design. Graduated in 2005 (first woman). Since 1998 Andrea has been working on all aspects of product design, from manufacturing to distribution. She has developed many innovating material techniques, most notably using silicone and rubber. In 2000 she collaborated with the world famous Campana brothers in Sao Paolo. Her double nationality reflects in her work: the Swiss disciplined purity of lines and Brazilian risk taking. Recently Andrea was internationally noticed by both the media and the profession with her revolutionary collection made of hay and latex. Above photo ⓒ Cécile Rogue.
Duobergère by Lachaert & d’Hanis
Duobergère designed by Lachaert & d’Hanis is two armchairs grown together, legs entwined, two cushions as one. Confusing piece of furniture, stirring the imagination.A bergère is fitted with a loose, but tailored, seat cushion. This chair is designed for lounging in comfort, with a deeper wider seat than that of a regular fauteuil. Material: wood and fabric cushion. Dimensions H110x120x60 cm.
Sofie Lachaert & Luc d’Hanis develop and realise many extraordinary objects as well as poetic, theatrical installations, both for their galleries (Tielrode, Ghent) and elsewhere (Droog Amsterdam). Questioning function and representation, their work communicates with the human body, the room, the environment. They work in a pure, minimalist style. Through subtle interventions they give everyday objects a new significance, an unexpected beauty. In the no man’s land between fine and applied art they create a slightly surrealistic, parallel world where there is a place for silver chip forks, useless crystal bottles, a noble sugar cage. Objects as art, art as an object. Above image ⓒ Lachaert & d'Hanis.
Human Milk Cameo Necklace by Cécile Fricker Lehanneur
Human Milk Cameo Necklace by Cécile Fricker Lehanneur is made of hand blown glass, gold and ivory made of human mother milk. The concept is that the mother’s milk remaining once she stops breast feeding is collected to produce the material that will become the baby cameo for the jewelry she will wear as a symbol of love for her child. The technique is developped by taking a 3D picture of the baby’s head, scan the image, then the mother’s milk is transformed in milk ivory blocks of about 3cm2. A computer program finally sculpts the cameo which is then hand finished for ultimate detailing. Hand-blown Murano glass will seal the cameo in a glass bubble and mounted on a gold chain.
Cécile Friquer Lehanneur is a jewlery designer, she lives and works in Paris, France. Above photo ⓒ Pierre Favresse.
JimmyJane, design by Arik Levy
Powered by JimmyJane, design by Arik Levy is a beautiful wooden jar with an extractable vibrator slid inside a hole made on the side of the jar. Arik develops here an experimental work about the relationship we have with objects and the way we interact with them. Powered by
JimmyJane talks about power, penetration, interaction, action or reaction as well as the natural and the superficial, rawness and technological advances. This idea was to turn objects, here a wooden jar, into an external stimulation vibratror that enables a totally new kind of interaction. The sextoy is no longer a necessary search for orgasm but also and simply an object for pleasure and/or emotional comforting.
Arik Levy is a founding partner of the multi-disciplinary design studio Ldesign and has worked across a broad range of projects including product design, industrial design, corporate identity, interior design and stage design. Born in Tel Aviv, Arik graduated with a distinction in Industrial Design from the Art Centre of Europe in Switzerland and subsequently took part in several design exhibitions in Japan. Returning to Europe, Arik applied his innovative concepts and installations to contemporary dance and opera scenography around the world. winner of many awards, his work has also been exhibited in numerous high profile fairs, galleries, museums and exhibitions. Arik works as both a scientist and a poet. Innovation, simplicity and experimentation are the hallmarks of his work. Above photo ⓒ Ldesign.
Metamorphose Spoons by Alexa Lixfeld
Metamorphose Spoons designed by Alexa Lixfeld is a one-of-a-kind collector’s item, an installation of 13 unique silver spoons.. Some of them develop into forks. The becoming of the spoon stands for the developing female, while the transforming into the fork stands for the developing male. It is a visualization of developing gender realized in fine silver cutlery. “i produce culture,” says alexa lixfeld.`cross-culture`would be better. whether it`s a project in which she tries to use concrete as an alternative for ceramics in household products, a perfume, food design, an eat-art performance in which the participants ladle soup from a plate with a 1,4 meter diameter, or a socio-economic development foundation she set up in sri lanka, to help children and rual women - she often seems to go for a challenge that others think impossible. in creacete™ she combined her pioneering experiments with concrete in the field of tableware with the ultimate in finishing, the traditional japanese urushi lacquering technique from wajima, while leaving the contrast open and visible.
alexa lixfeld studied at köln international school of design, university of applied arts pforzheim and design academy eindhoven, the netherlands. she works in hamburg since 2006, running her own studio. Above photo ⓒ Benne Ochs.
Fruit Condom by Quentin Simonin & Morgane Pluchon
Fruit Condom designed by Quentin Simonin & Morgane Pluchon is a new way to use fruits: for pleasure, literally. The fruit condom is made in 100% hypoallergenic silicon, it slides easily on the fruits and vegetables of your choice. Comes in a sexy and friendly packaging with user guide, the fruit condom exists in three colors, green, pink and blue.
Morgane Pluchon and Quentin Simonin are students at the Ecole Supérieure Art & Design in Saint Etienne (France). The fruit condom is part of their study on the aesthetics of sex toys. Above photo ⓒ Morgane & Quentin.
Quisàz-Quisàz by PUPSAM
Quisàz-Quisàz by PUPSAM is a double stethoscope aimed at simultaneously listening to your own heart and the one of your beloved. Made of chromed silver, comes in pink and blue or red and blue. Limited edition. Pupsam is Thomas Libé and David Puel, two ecclectic product designers specialising in a wide sprectrum of ideas, from photography to product design. They live and work in Paris, France.
PS (Pleasure String) by Sara Szyber
PS (Pleasure String) designed by Sara Szyber is a wearable hands free silicon lovetoy, micro-perforated in patterns like fine lace. Unique of its kind, PS is intended for subtle stimulation of a woman’s intimate parts, discrete and luxurious. Comes in black colour. 100% hypoallergenic silicon.
Sara Szyber, Swedish, is educated at the University College of Arts, Crafts & Design, Stockholm in Interior Architecture & Furniture Design. She works on productions with a strong focus on interiors and places, covering everything from exhibitions and product design to interior design.
Projects include solo productions or collaborations with established manufacturers as for example Riksutställningar, the Swedish Institute, Futurniture, Sveriges Möbelindustriförbund, Design House Stockholm, Formtanke and more. For Design House Stockholm Sara has designed the sideboard Slide and the folding table wing. Above photo ⓒ T-nut.
Waveform by Sakurako Shimizu
Waveform designed by Sakurako Shimizu is born out of the shape of digital sound waves. waveform Series consists of laser-cut visual representations of various sounds, rendered in silver and other metals and presented as wearable pieces. For this particular Love Design project the source of sound is “Cet Amour”, a poem by Jacques Prévert. The waveform of the poem, read by French actress Jeanne Moreau, was incorporated into necklaces and rings. The installation, beside jewelry objects, consists of the actual soundtrack. 24K Gold laser-cut.
Sakurako Shimizu is a jewelry designer based in New York. Above photo ⓒ Takateru Yamada.
exquise design is a company based in Paris since 2007. From idea to finished product our job is to orchestrate eclectic art professionals throughout the world in fields such as graphic and product design, art direction and photography, publishing or scenography. For each one of our projects, we aim at bringing you a pleasurable design experience out of the ordinary. At the crossing of craftsmanship, new technologies and fresh ideas, our goal is to collectively strive for positive changes in attitudes, particularly towards subjects generally left aside by the industry.
Our first project has been to rethink the codes of sexuality through product design. we asked three women designers to follow one brief: to imagine an object for solitary body pleasure aimed at women, made of silicon, non-explicit, non-mechanical and that integrates with the natural movements of masturbation. Matali Crasset, Sara Szyber and Andrea Knecht came up with forms and functions that challenge in every possible way the usual codes generally attributed to the area of sex and design. This Love toy collection designed by women became a book project named Love Design, published by Daab, featuring the world’s best designs on the theme of Love. In April 2009 during the
Milan furniture fair Exquise curates the Love Design exhibition, presenting a series of new outstanding designs taken from the book.
In September 2009 you will be welcomed to our brand new creative thinktank space in Paris (France), a unique place for like-minded creatives to meet, exchange and work under the same roof and under one rule: cooking ideas. This space will also serve as visionary design gallery presenting emerging and established artists, focusing on limited edition pieces. For your pleasure only.
COMING OUT APRIL 09
LOVE DESIGN the book
22,5 x 22,5 cm
9 x 9 inch
384 pages hardcover with linen
text in english, german, french, spanish, italian
ISBN 978-3-86654-051-4
39,95 / $59,95 / can$64,95 / £29,95
www.daab-online.com
exquise
Photos: Pierre Dufour
exquisedesign.com
See all our stories from Milan in our special MIlan 2009
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