Pieke Bergmans, Francesco Binfare', Pietro Consagra, Alessandro Ciffo, Alessandro Mendini, Roberto Mora, Gianni Osgnach, Daniele Papuli, Andrea Salvetti e Matteo Thun
Dilmos. As the leader of design both in Milan and throughout the world, Dilmos was founded in 1980 as a furniture showroom that exhibited the quintessential tokens of modern and contemporary design.
Since 1985, concurrently with the exhibition dedicated to Alessandro Mendini, it has focused its interests on design pieces as poetic mediums, vehicles for communication and interaction between the creator and interlocutor.
Thus, Dilmos is a place for reflection and for proposing new paradigms for living, for functioning, for the link between form and function, art and design.
The exhibition. We are offering the event 9 + uno (nine plus one), on the occasion of Fuorisalone 2015.
Ten items will be exhibited by their ten designers: Pieke Bergmans, Francesco Binfare, Pietro Consagra, Alessandro Ciffo, Alessandro Mendini, Roberto Mora, Gianni Osgnach, Daniele Papuli, Andrea Salvetti and Matteo Thun.
These 9 artists are already present in the Dilmos exhibition repertoire, and one is PietroConsagra, one of the most influential sculptors of the 20 th century. The concept of the "Mobile frontale" (frontal furniture), which was designed for private use in 1956, is a limited co-edition by the Archivio Pietro Consagra and Dilmos. The original is on display at the Trienniale of Milan exhibition event dedicated to arts and foods (running from April 9 - November 1, 2015).
Physical descriptions and narrations for each piece have been provided by the designers, who were asked to contextualize their works in terms of their inspiration and method of experimentation. We were pleased to have maintained these descriptions as unique and original as they were rendered.
PIEKE BERGMANS
"Illusion I" Table
ash veneered mdf
high-tech, full color imprint
cm 210x90x78
2013
"Having chosen a completely new direction for my work, I created a table that boasts patterns portraying movement. In a voyage through contours and shapes, my exploration culminated in delicate designs that conjure the observer to peer closer and lose themselves in its intricate patterns. The surfaces imprinted with three dimensional designs transmit a sense of depth and elicit a new visual perception. It was produced using a special high-tech imprinting technique that shrouds the pieces in depicted imagery. A closer inspection will reveal that all the lines coincide perfectly with all sides"
FRANCESCO BINFARE'
"African Farfalla" Table
Folding Table
width 270cm x length 308cm x height 76.5cm
Materials: Sapele Mahogany wood; hollow-cored panels clad with Feather Mahogany and veneered in Brazilian Rosewood; finished with protective natural oils that accentuate the natural woodgrain. Hinges and closing devices in brass.
2014
“There is no otherworldly influence or ideology immersed in my work – I just depicted what was already there. I sought to incorporate into its daily use my desire to create something different. To render a positive shape, to turn a body into a revelation, to create harmony, power and beauty. That essence, that mahogany, becomes an obsession, with so much intensity. It possesses an extraordinary power to conjure up the magnanimous and sensual earth from which it is born. I was drawn to this particular mahogany for its ability to capture the light within its deep surface, while offering a euphoric sensation to the touch. The table is strong like a lion, and is elevated, like its origin, that sacred and elevated land – flat and solid. The soaring bird-shape was imperative for Vedic ritualists. The primary metamorphoses of human beings unfurl right on the table, where we dine, work, and converse with others. I sought to evoke in Africa Farfalla (Africa Butterfly) the primary and sacrosanct aspects to life. It is an embodiment of ritual, of representation, of beauty, of the sensuality of the work. Achieving the functionality of a piece is extremely complex. Furniture is an effigy, a vehicle between the need and significance of that object. I aspired to make something physically prodigious for the body and for the sanctity of life.
Africa Farfalla is made-to-order following the original model, and cannot be placed into a series, not even one of similar characteristics. In 2014, Africa Farfalla was purchased by FNAC (Fonds National D'Art Contemporain, in Paris) to be added to its sculpture section."
PIETRO CONSAGRA (1920-2005)
"Mobile Frontale" Sculpture - Cabinet
painted wood
200x168x38cm
1956/ 2015
"This very functional wooden cabinet has several painted doors, shelves, shutters and a rotating unit. The term frontale (frontal vision) refers to the façade of this sculpture-cabinet as the entire essence of the work by Consagra. The Archivio Pietro Consagra chose to co-edit the work with Dilmos for a limited edition because everyone who saw it told me, "It's fantastic, why don't you have it reproduced?" It was designed by Consagra in 1956 and produced with his assistants at his studio in Rome at Via Cassia, for his beach house at Tor San Lorenzo beach, which was used with his first wife (who was American) and his four children. The beach house, which had welcomed many artist friends, was nicknamed 'the little fort,' and stood near a bigger house belonging to Luchino Visconti.
Consagra was a man of such energy and intellectual courage, but personal relationships were always of great importance to his life. He harbored a yearning for isolation, for concentration, to participate in the taxing world of art, but at the same time, in the evening, he would enjoy good company, conversation, and indulging in food. His ideas were very clear to him, hence the birth of this cabinet. It is composed of three sections that stand as tall as a person, and rest on one base, a bench. This is not the only furniture brainchild of Consagra. During the '50s he designed a coffee table series, and during the '70s he created the models for a bookcase, a table and a cabinet that he would later produce during the '90s for his home and office. Akin to sculpturing, furniture takes on abstract rather than geometric forms that nearly become lifelike from an expression of emotion. The prominence of the facade, which has been an earmark of his sculptures since 1948, was a way for him to exist in the world. Position is an integral element to his sculptures, with the front side facing the world; it is thin, hiding nothing, open to everyone, colloquial, and direct. In this particular piece, the three sections communicate with one another, and with its users and observers. Its shape resides and thrives in the space surround in front and beyond, between its sections, and within its available niches." Account by Gabriella Di Milia Consagra, collected by Clara Mantica
ALESSANDRO CIFFO
Mobile Quadro "Silicone Painting"
Painted illustration on three-dimensional door 100 x 170 cm
Palette knife technique
Pigmented acetic silicone
2015
”After so many years of working with Dilmos, all I have to say is: finally Quadro cabinet. Painting is essential to my domain of study, and is conducive to rediscovering the expressive value of the embellishment which becomes the ideal inspiration. Painted furniture is the result of my interpretation of Pictorial Design. I always proceed with my own technique – with the help of my dear friend, Silicone, because as Guido Curto once suggested to me – my method is Silicone Painting, where “the medium is the message”, to quote Marshall McLuhan."
ALESSANDRO MENDINI
"Magico 3" Credenza
a 3-piece edition
215x110x57cm
2010
Alessandro Mendini (Milan, 1931), architect, artistic and abstract designer, since the mid1970s has worked on a study which led him to reevaluate the traditional hierarchies of art by intersecting the various realms of art history. He incorporates a traversal use of ready-mades in art, which evolve into a fragmentation of the work – no longer as a unique specimen, but rather as the integration of infinite parts and origins.
These works, which were designed by Mendini exclusively for the Paolo Curti/Annamaria Gambuzzi gallery, comprise a table, a credenza, a sideboard and a server, all in the collection called MAGICI (magic). These pieces pay tribute to the Futurist style, and in particular to Fortunato Depero. Mendini harnesses painting as a conceptual tool that gives shape and embellishment to his pieces, while modernizing the futurist movement, which entailed innovating the applied art forms by engaging both painting and sculpturing in every realm of our lives.
By revamping these styles, the flair to the MAGICI furniture line emerges in the dynamism of the abstract-geometric shapes and in the spectrum of vivacious colors. It is this union that renders a piece in which the key protagonists are its chromatic flamboyance and the appeal of extravagance. The artist applies the utmost rigor to his study of forms, and extreme attention to proportioning, ultimately creating works that integrate elegance with equilibrium. Throughout his continual study, by fusing design painting with pictorial design, Alessandro Mendini offers us a new perspective that accentuates both the excess and eclecticism inherent in art, in a concept that brings to life what he himself defines as "re-design", or a usable work of art.
ROBERTO MORA
"Amphora"
Steel (imprinted pieces)
two-component clear epoxy resin, pigments
diameter cm 87x210height
2015
” It pays homage to the ancient archetype. With this unequivocal and iconic shape, I sought to give new meaning to containment and preservation by incorporating a more transient and almost dreamlike use. The Amphora vase becomes a befitting sanctuary for our possessions. This unsuspected piece celebrates the beauty of an ancient relic, but cladded in steel."
GIANNI OSGNACH
"Gli Occhi Tavolo"
Oak supporting base with an iron interior.
Glass surface
Made with fabrics soaked in two-component clear epoxy resin.
diameter 130x73height
2015
"A solid, clear wood table comprising a cross-brace with four legs, slanting inwards on the bottom. The glass surface rests directly on four mounts situated on the outside of the cross-brace. Placed between the glass surface and the cross-brace is a meticulously-assembled sheet of resin-soaked fabric pieces. The legs open towards the top, the horizontal cross-brace that merges towards the center. The circular form of the glass surface, and the colorful composition of fabrics filtering through the glassy pane –it is a feast for the eyes, with the fabric composition as the salient feature. Take a seat, and let your eyes drift through its allure."
DANIELE PAPULI
"Erto"
‘Cartodendrometrìa’ Collection
Cylindrical dimensions m. 220/240(height)/70-90(diameter)
Table m. 0,70(H)/130/160
2015
“Erto welcomes and prepares you. It is a piece for daily domestic use, but evocative of a dream world. The reminder of all things concealed, secret, valued, stashed away in the cavity of a tree, often an olive tree, for those whose origin is where these are in abundance, like in my land of Salento.
The table is close at hand, and formed by a megalithic plate of paper material. This single piece wrapped within itself lures you to stop and sit in its company. Guests form their own microcosm, of things revisited, of people assembled together protecting, living, remembering that "...things themselves are places and do not merely belong in a place", as Martin Heidegger tells us in Art and Space.
It is composed of two engaged and sculpted forms, which are moveable. The two sections are obtained by selecting and mechanically-cutting thousands of strips of paper, which are thereafter positioned, molded and inlaid by hand. Both sections are rendered without conjoining pieces, but are two larger structures created by lining up the strips, one at a time and one after the other, fitted and in large quantities to ensure strength and solidity to the sections."
ANDREA SALVETTI
"Cattedrale Morale" Cabinet
Fused aluminum, crystal encased shelves
an edition of 6 numbered examples + 3 Aps
approx. cm180x60x150 height
2015
"Following the customary method of superimposing trunks, either lined up or pointed, I envisioned a rudimentary, modern-day structure. A solid and rigorous architecture that enshrines my idea of monumental nature. This cabinet is magnificent, austere, but capacious, accommodating, efficacious, and lavish. A wise and conscious piece that spurs musings about the planet – hence, a cathedral."
MATTEO THUN
"White Venus" Vases
in collaboration with Benedetto Fasciana
White pottery embossed with bandage and comb patterns
height range: 24 - 87 cm / Matteo Thun Atelier catalog
2015
White Venus is a limited edition of 9 pottery vases designed by Bitossi. Inspired by medieval medicine containers, the vases also pay homage to the ideal woman of Montelupo Fiorentino. The finish is realized with embossed bandage and comb patterns.
"AC" Totems
in collaboration with Benedetto Fasciana
White bisque pottery with applied wax
height range: 93 -151 cm / Matteo Thun Atelier catalog /
2015
Superimposed white vases comprise the unique AC series, marked by a consecutive number in the series. Created by Alessio Sarri, the totem sculpture collection combines archetypical forms of containers and amphora vases. The formal simplicity of the pieces is emphasized by the white wax-treated surface.
TEXT BY CLARA MANTICA
