AN ITALIAN AFFAIR
A Project by Claudia Pignatale
For 3 Days of Design Copenhagen 12-14 June 2024
At The Italian Residence Fredericiagade 2, Copenhagen
In Collaboration with the Italian Embassy
Partners: Ethimo, Fenix, Moroso, Secondome
Designers / Artists: – Marta Abbott- Ron Arad – CARA \ DAVIDE – DWA Design Studio – Simone Fanciullacci – Flovver (Barbara Mattei) – Duccio Maria Gambi – Coralla Maiuri – Luca Nichetto – Patricia Urquiola – Martinelli Venezia – Mandalaki – Næssi Studio- mist-o – Studio Adolini – Gio Tirotto – Zanellato/Bortotto.
Media Partner: Archiproducts – Ark Journal
A timeless journey through the excellence of Italian design is about to come to life in the royal Residence of the Italian Ambassador in Copenhagen, for 3 Days of Design of Copenaghen 12-14 June.
“An Italian Affair” challenges the boundaries of time, celebrating the refinement, art and innovation of design and Made in Italy. In a unique combination of tradition and modernity, we will transform the elegant interiors of the residence into a stage for the most extraordinary and iconic creations where each element will be protagonist and will tell about a story of Italian craftsmanship and style.
Claudia Pignatale, curator and Creative Director of Secondome, has called together 4 Italian design brands, two self-producing, an artist, and a Flower Designer to bring to life this adventure where Italian design and savoir-faire will be the protagonists.
Ethimo, Fenix, Moroso, and Secondome are four Italian Companies united by a common passion for design, craftsmanship, and Made in Italy.
We will present a selection of iconic pieces inside the residence that will tell the story of each brand.
Our story will begin in the garden where OUT-FIT, Studio Adolini’s project, will stand out, bringing Ethimo to create a new way of living outdoors and connecting with the landscape, extending the concept of comfort to an element dedicated to seeking balance between physical form and general well-being.
The exhibition is spread throughout the entire first floor of the residence, in the first floor the natural carpet Vetulonia unexpectedly emerges from the floor of the ballroom of Italian Ambassador’s Residence in Copenhagen. Created by grafting about eight hundred specimens of dried yarrow onto a portion of parquet, the botanical creation by Barbara Mattei’s FLOVVER studio is an invitation to reflect on the natural beauty of things, to favor a dialogue with the other based on simplicity and the rejection of artifice for its own sake.
In the Rooms of The Italian Residence 3 site-specifics luminous installation by Mandalaki where the artificial light of the Halo, light projectors inspired by the colors of nature, intends to immerse the visitor in a futuristic atmosphere with the colors of artificial light.
Capturing the ambiance of a winter garden, Ethimo showcases some of its most iconic pieces together with previews presented at the latest Salone del Mobile in Milan.
The Patio and Rotin collection, a new design by Zanellato/Bortotto, features innovative weaves inspired by diverse cultures, creating unique patterns that serve as both structure and decoration for welcoming, seductive, and refined furniture elements. New and as a preview of the 2025 collection, is the Lustra lamp and Folia side tables, designed by Luca Nichetto, along with the Venexia collection. Finally, the Bold table, crafted in stone and cement by Ethimo studio, combines soft, rounded shapes with a monochromatic and material aesthetic, resembling a sculptural piece.
Continuing into the second room, there will be Design Duo Double Feature is a special research project curated by Federica Sala for FENIX®, originally presented during Milan Design Week 2024. An exploratory project aimed at investigating the multiplicity of potential shown by materials and surfaces, rooted in the concept of duality. Six pairs of designers – CARA \ DAVIDE, DWA Design Studio, Martinelli Venezia, Næssi Studio, mist-o and Zanellato/Bortotto – were invited to design dual-use furnishings, which are made by combining FENIX® materials with those produced by the other brands in the Broadview Holding group – Arpa®, Formica® and Homapal® – and offering unexpected uses for the material and surprising solutions.
On the walls will be the Pietra Viva works by Marta Abbott, made on a research of colors and materials in Carrara. The works were created in a historic Italian engraving studio (Fiorentino) using an ink made of Carrara marble powder that the artist collected in a quarry.
In the ballroom, there will be an installation by Moroso + Secondome.
The One Page armchair born from the sculptural seat with which Moroso and Ron Arad write a new chapter in the history of their partnership.
The Gruuve sofa by Patricia Urquiola, a sofa with character to transform the living room into a convivial labyrinth. The Mangiafuoco tables where the duo Zanellato/Bortotto for Moroso rediscover the art of enamel on copper: a simple copper object, covered with vitreous powders, takes on an unexpected splendor once fired at high temperatures, assuming surprising colors and maintaining the nature of the metal intact.
“Among all the arts, I know none more adventurous, more uncertain, and therefore more noble, than the arts that require the use of fire.” Paul Valéry
From the artisanal tradition of blown glass without a mold combined with a nickel-plated brass structure, one of the most iconic object of the Secondome collection, the one that marked the beginning of a partnership with Gio Tirotto, the Coexist collection globes, presented in Copenhagen in a new finish.
The Altamira sideboard designed by Simone Fanciullacci, the Jeunesse stools by Duccio Maria Gambi, and the Nexum Table by Naessi Studio the result of the collaboration between Secondome and Studio F with the creative direction of Claudia Pignatale, made of recovered maple wood in Turin.
The armchairs and the Awaiting bench in brass and blue velvet the first and in velvet designed by Coralla Maiuri the second, designed by Giorgia Zanellato. Finally, the family of across tables in enameled steel.
Archiproducts is media partner of An Italian Affair.
ph. Serena Eller / Eller Studio
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