On May 23, 2014 in the Central House of Artists, within the framework of the ARCHIWOOD award, the most talented Russian designers working with wood will be awarded. In the all-Russian prize, which is awarded this year for the fifth time, the nomination "Subject Design" has appeared. We bring to your attention a text by curator Yulia Peshkova about a new nomination and trends in Russian object design, published in the prize catalog. So, curator Julia Peshkova:
The Debut of the Subject Design nomination was stormy and spontaneous. The organizers made the decision to introduce it shortly before the end of the application submission, but despite this, 33 bureaus with 62 objects managed to register. It's scary to imagine how many applicants would have gathered in six months. Obviously, such a nomination was needed. From the very beginning ARCHIWOOD systematically moved from big to small. The nomination "country house", with which it all began, was gradually added to "small" and "art objects", "interior" - there was only one step left to furniture. And now he's done.
The expert council of the award was wary of the innovation: to what extent they have sunk to floor lamps and stools! But it depends on how you understand the award. If it is only about architecture, then “object design” is not her friend. And if about the material, about the tree and its presence in both public and residential space, then the furniture is very much in its place. The evolution of ARCHIWOOD shows that we are talking about the second case.
Someone might say that sixty-two objects are not that much, because it is easier to put together a stool than to build a house. In fact, this is decent. A few years ago it was impossible to dream of such a thing. What did the domestic furniture market look like? Several expensive brands that are made "for Italy", many cheap factories that have nothing to do with design, and between them there is a huge white spot.
Designer wooden furniture was made for their projects by architects (for example, Eduard Zabuga, whose chair participated in the competition, but did not make it to the shortlist), but they had neither the opportunity nor often the desire to develop it in a separate direction. Designers, graduates of emerging specialized schools and faculties, drew pictures on a computer and waited for some factory to buy a project from them. The most practical went abroad, many changed their profile, only a few stubborn ones continued to work in Russia, interrupting with rare orders.
And now the recently empty niche began to fill up. Young designers are tired of waiting to be noticed by manufacturers. They found the only possible way out of the situation - to do everything themselves. They create workshops or negotiate with factories, come up with a collection, set up production, launch an online store or find a distributor, arrange delivery - in short, they provide a full cycle, from idea to sale. The development of e-commerce and, in particular, the emergence of platforms like Depst has become a salvation for small manufacturers who do not have the opportunity to open a real store or break into showrooms.
The image of a typical Russian designer has changed dramatically. Until recently, he was a pessimistic character with three renders in his portfolio, but now it is increasingly common to see an energetic entrepreneurial person with a small, but cute and quite livable collection of real things. Of course, despite all the optimism and energy, these people still cannot furnish our apartments, their bill goes not to thousands or even hundreds, but to dozens of copies, and the prices are very high, but still it looks like the sprouts of the design market, and very briskly emerging.
ARCHPOLE and Fineobjects became the pioneers of this market, both studios were formed in 2008. The first brand is backed by the graduates of the Moscow Architectural Institute Anna Sazhinova and Konstantin Lagutin, who came to design from architecture, and fell in love with the tree after they built the first house from it. They continue their architectural and design practice, but more importantly, ARCHPOLE has become the first Russian brand of wooden furniture with its own original design and production. The guys showed up at many specialized exhibitions, they wrote a lot in the press, and, I think, this became an example for others.
Fineobjects studio was founded by designer Sergei Semenov. At first, he had only a few things to his credit (the most noticeable is the Flat lamp, in the form of a floor lamp, but flat), but recently he has very powerfully expanded the collection, focusing on wood. Fineobjects has a full-fledged online store and are going to open a real one soon.
In 2009, several more studios appeared. Petersburg designer Alexander Kanygin began to invent and independently produce furniture from wood (he says he loves it for "endless potential, environmental friendliness and aesthetic qualities"). He also has quite practical things, but not very useful, but very effective stylized bear heads, made him really famous.
The architectural workshop of Vladimir Yuzbashev took up furniture as a separate, not only for projects, direction. Graduates of the Stroganov School Kirill Korolev and Dmitry Boreev founded the Industriart brand, which produces furniture made of wood and metal in an industrial style.
Further studios, workshops and factories began to open like mushrooms after rain. An architect by education, but an artisan by vocation, Ivan Ovchinnikov took up - in parallel with the festival and project activities - the creation of wooden furniture for his "ArchFerma" and for sale. Petersburg resident Timofey Zhuravlev develops furniture for his interior projects, and then adapts it for mass production, focusing on modularity, which is very correct in our conditions. Vladimir Ivanov from Kemerovo seems closer to Europe than other Muscovites: his things evoke clear associations (a lighthouse, a flower in a pot, an easel, a snowflake), so they are understandable without translation. The Woodi Furniture brand makes furniture, as they say, in a Scandinavian style, not god knows how original, but very cute.
Yaroslav Misonzhnikov and Katerina Kopytina, who recently set sail for free, have so far done only a few things (if we talk about wood), but you can expect a lot from them, including in the field of wooden design. Yaroslav, for example, is working on the creation of the “Exactly-tree” workshop.
Monoproductions have already appeared. Designers who have managed to find one commercially promising idea do not throw themselves away, but only deal with it. For example, Nikolay Nikitin with an incredibly variable Flex shelf, Marat Shakhsuvaryan with a Boxsystem modular shelving unit, Andrey Anisimov and Maria Anisimova-Karasik with a PLAYPLY collection of children's furniture, which is assembled without a single nail, Vasily Perfiliev and Anastasia Shcherbakova, another parents, with Shusha toys Toys. And these are far from all "woodworkers", but only those closest to the concept of "object design"! Of course, this looks more like a business than a design, but that's good. There are many ideas in Russia, the implementation is lame.
The expert council of the award, consisting of serious architects and critics, was somewhat skeptical of the young growth of designers. This can be seen from the shortlist. Only one participant, who does not have an architectural background, has earned the favor of experts - a resident of St. Petersburg, Yaroslav Misonzhnikov. They so highly appreciated the freshness and sense of humor of his work that they chose two things at once: the "Angle" lamp and the "Ratchet" rocking chair. Three other finalists (Totan Kuzembaev, Ivan Ovchinnikov and ARCHPOLE) participated many times in ARCHIWOOD with architectural projects (Kuzembaev is the main master of wooden architecture) and were, as they say, “their own” for the Council.
Their furniture has an architectural approach, and this is exactly what experts expected from object design. The furniture set, designed by Totan Kuzembaev for the Nayada company, is made of loose-fitting boards and covered with transparent plastic - a similar technique is used for outdoor pavilions, where there is a wooden frame and a plastic hood that lets in light and protects from rain. The series of furniture "90x90" by Ivan Ovchinnikov is generally practically a log house, only in this case, not a house, but tables and chairs is formed from a bar. At ARCHPOLE, the shape follows the material, emphasizes the beauty of a particular type of wood (and they have a lot of them - old boards, burnt wood, birch plywood, etc.). For the most part, Russian object design seemed secondary to experts.
The truth is that everything that is happening now in Russian design fits into global trends. The first trend is the opening of our own production. Abroad, the boom of small workshops happened seven years ago, it came to us later. Young designers explained their position in the same way: why wait for an uncle when you can work on your own, and even give work to local craftsmen (it's easier with them abroad than here).
The second trend is wood. Mass love for wood began around the same time. The less processing, the more natural it looks, the better. Now the designers have played enough of the lessons of natural history, but until recently, bark, branches and other driftwood were used.
The third trend combines the first two: small workshops that work with wood. Most budding designers who want to make their own things turn to wood, it only depends on their place of residence, whether it is bamboo, teak or pine. It is simple, cheap and reliable: it is easier to make an attractive wooden thing than glass-metal or plastic - it pulls out the material itself.
The Milan Design Museum is currently hosting an exhibition dedicated to Italian design during the economic crisis: the 1930s, 1970s and today. And how do you think Italian designers got out of the situation? We switched to our own production and primitive materials, primarily wood. So everything that is happening now in design is just a logical product of the latest economic crisis.
In addition to deep-sea trends, there are superficial ones - like shape, color, etc. They have no nationality (especially in the era of the Internet): similar things can surface in the Sea of Japan and the Bay of Biscay. Our designers do not say whether they are following trends consciously or simply catching ideas in the air, but the result does not change: yes, many things fit into trends and, as a result, evoke a sense of déjà vu. For example, plant motifs, this eternal trend that flares up and fades away, but never disappears for good. Designers copy not each other, but nature, so it's pretty ridiculous to accuse them of plagiarism. Or the Scandinavian style, which also became fashionable due to the crisis. Designers try to make furniture practical, compact, no frills - it's not surprising that things turn out to be similar. Or such a trifle as embossed dresser doors or lamps without a lampshade, where there is only a socket and a light bulb. Yes, not our designers invented them, but so what?
Trends exist because at some point some ideas take over others and there are many similar things, whether we like it or not. They are everywhere - in fashion, design, architecture, gastronomy - and it is useless to resist them. It may sound unpatriotic, but since our designers stopped looking for a "special path" and embarked on a global path, their things began to look much more decent. In general, it seems to me that the task of a designer is not at all to try to invent something that did not exist every time. It is good if he makes a discovery, but this cannot happen often. Our designers not only come up with quite interesting things, but they also produce them, moreover, in Russia. The introduction of the Subject Design nomination into the ARCHIWOOD award is one of the ways to mark them, without exaggeration, a feat.
Photos of the five objects shortlisted for the ARCHIWOOD prize can be seen during the Arch of Moscow (May 21-25) in the Peripter pavilion, in front of the Central House of Artists, along with other contenders for the ARCHIWOOD prize. You can vote for your favorite object on the website arhiwood.com until 21.59 on May 22. The Subject Design nomination is also accompanied by a small exposition on the third floor of the Central House of Artists, in hall 19. The awarding of the winners based on the results of the jury voting and popular vote will be held as part of the ARCHIWOOD award ceremony on May 23, 2014 at 19.00 in the Conference Hall of the Central House of Artists (Krymsky Val, 10).
