Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about experimentation, and how experimentation leads designers towards giving objects new characteristics. As if we’re trying to go beyond the raw material, looking for new finishes which have a different impact on their environment, and which above all have a totally different appearance to what we expect to see and evoke new feelings because of that.
There exist some products which are so closely linked to a certain aesthetic or environment that it then becomes difficult for the piece to adapt to another space, one for which it was not designed. Then, on the other hand, there are objects which have an intrinsic dynamism which allows them to be versatile and remain captivating.
Dynamism and movement are characteristics not often used to describe stationary, inanimate objects, however, there are some finishes which naturally embody this sense of movement.
Specifically, I’m referring to reflective surfaces, which can alter a product so that it does not appear static thanks to another element: light.
In BT01, Bhulls use a surface that allows the piece to reflect the tones that surround it, to celebrate color and the evolution of its shades. It is a sculptural object whose shape has been made by hand and this makes each piece unique and unrepeatable.
The celebration of colour is also evident in Norton's Mood Side Zinc, which uses simple shapes and clean geometries, which leave space for and emphasize the use of an untreated Zinc finish.
From left top: BT01 - Bhulls, Mood Side Table Zinc - Dean Norton, Miami Table Lamp - Brajak Vitberg
Instead, what leads Brajak Vitberg to resort to the use of reflective finishes is the desire to recall a natural landscape. More specifically, Miami Table Lamp is a tribute to Miami's colorful and vibrant sky. The varying nature of the sky is in fact reflected by the iridescent foil.
Changing from one colour to another is then the element that prevails most in these types of surfaces and it is also what certainly makes them so captivating and fascinating in the eyes of the beholder.
For this reason, to emphasize this peculiarity even more, some designers choose to use simple and pure shapes, such as Atelier 06 in Meteorite or Amaury d’Hulst in Manatsu. With Chroma, Montserrat Piña Benetts plays with the modularity and repetition of simple shapes, which create captivating lighting effects.
From left top: Meteorite Mirror - 06D, Manatsu Mirror - Amaury D'Hulst, Chroma Divider - Montserrat Benetts, Dancing Table, Antipop
Finally, Antipop takes a gamble in Dancing Table by combining complex geometries with reflective surfaces. The shape is made up of an interlocking of circles, to explore the concept of movement. Since the table is a static object, the movement is given by the iridescent paint which changes color depending on the angles from which the table is viewed, thus allowing users to experience a different object every time they look at it.
Explore these pieces and more at Movimento Club.
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