For decades now, Ron Arad has been working on the fluid borderline between industrial design and contemporary art. For this project, he pauses to contemplate a vision that has transfixed him on more than one occasion. By means of three unique new objects for ALPI, he has given space and body to the sculptural soul hidden in the weight-bearing structure of three of his design pieces. Until now, no one had had the possibility to see them and admire them.
Working in tandem with the ALPI research department, Arad has created three structures model the volumes into a three-dimensional play of shapes and colours.
Based on the chairs Big Easy, Voido and Thumbprint, the three new objects are now the stars of the show at "If I were a Carpenter".
If I were a Carpenter – Set up - photo Thomas Pagani
For this occasion, ALPI has produced bespoke types of wood that accentuate the optical effect of the shapes designed by Arad. Boards of ALPI faced with two different colours give the pieces a changeable appearance, the hues and perception of which differ in accordance with the viewing point of the observer.
"When ALPI contacted me for this project, I wanted to create something that celebrates the company's product so I thought of something made of a lattice structure of wood. It is not unlike things I did in CorTen steel in the past. The extra thing is the materiality, plus the fact that I could have a different colour for each side of the board. So a piece that looks, say, blue from one side, when you go around it, it looks red," says Ron Arad.
The Italian photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari created an accompaniment to the exhibition. His eccentric project interprets the strong character of Arad's objects in a provocatory and surrealistic fashion. "I like crazy design that challenges time and space," says Ferrari.
If I were a Carpenter – Big Easy
Inspired by the iconic steel armchair Big Easy (1988) – more of an artwork than an industrial product – the chair's generous size, soft lines, giant armrests and curvy shapes are conceived as a monobloc volume. Its two-tone wood version for ALPI is black on one side and red on the other. The optical effect changes according to the observer's viewpoint.
If I were a Carpenter – Big Easy - photo Pierpaolo Ferrari
If I were a Carpenter – Oh Void
Sinuous and plump, like many of Arad's objects, the Oh Void is inspired by the famous rocking chair Voido. Seemingly simple, it conceals great complexity of design and construction. Its two-tone wood version for ALPI is red on one side and blue on the other. The optical effect changes according to the observer's viewpoint and the rocking movement of the chair.
If I were a Carpenter – Oh Void - photo Pierpaolo Ferrari
If I were a Carpenter – Southern Hemisphere
Like a shell, this rocking chair reproduces one of the most popular objects by Ron Arad, the functional sculpture Thumbprint, a recognised artwork found in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
ALPI and Arad built a new version made with the same construction principle as the other objects on display. Wooden slats are cut out and joined in a meticulously studied composition. The two-tone ALPI wood is black on one side and light grey on the other, creating an optical effect. The chair's colour and appearance are altered by the observer's viewpoint.
If I were a Carpenter – Southern Hemisphere - photo Pierpaolo Ferrari
This is the fourth instalment of the experimental ALPI exhibitions featuring talents from the design world. The initiative began in 2017 with the show "Re-Connection" by Martino Gamper, who used the wood developed by Ettore Sottsass. In 2018, Alessandro Mendini created the pieces "Tre Primitivi", followed by Piero Lissoni's designs "La tavola degli Elementi" in 2019.
These collaborations have become a regular fixture for ALPI, a key moment to present specially made projects designed by architects and artists invited to interpret the company's reconstituted wood veneers.
The idea is the brainchild of Vittorio Alpi, the company's president, who, wishing to give three-dimensionality to the ALPI surfaces, asks design protagonists to create pieces in total freedom, without the limits of mass production. The unique objects, half design, half art, illustrate the company's orientation and vision for the future.
"Of course the pioneering architect, designer and artist Ron Arad already inhabited my wish box. He decided to make three chairs from his BTT series (Blame the Tools) using boards of our wood in two colours, one for each side. The result is astonishing, and it shows how easily Ron is able to enter a new world and wield new tools while maintaining all his elegance, subversive style and spirit," says Vittorio Alpi.
If I were a Carpenter
at ALPI showroom - Via Solferino 7, Milan
The exhibition will remain open to the public until to 22 December
Monday through Friday
If I were a Carpenter – Set up - photo Thomas Pagani
If I were a Carpenter – Set up - photo Thomas Pagani
If I were a Carpenter – Big Easy - photo Pierpaolo Ferrari
If I were a Carpenter – Oh Void - photo Pierpaolo Ferrari
If I were a Carpenter – Southern Hemisphere - photo Pierpaolo Ferrari
If I were a Carpenter – Set up - photo Thomas Pagani
If I were a Carpenter – Set up - photo Thomas Pagani
If I were a Carpenter – Set up - photo Thomas Pagani
If I were a Carpenter – Set up - photo Thomas Pagani
