This summer, the Nerka Design Happening design exhibition was held in Yerevan. The main goal of its organizers, Nerka Design Project, is to create a regular design review in Armenia, which should contribute to the development of this sphere within the country, help promote local designers in the international arena, and also build a dialogue with professionals from abroad. The very name "Nerka" (translated from Armenian - "now", "at this stage") implies precisely the modern discussion about design.
According to the organizers, exhibitions should be held in pop-up format in spaces that were not originally intended for expositions, which in turn makes Nerka Design Happening a catalyst for the development of these venues. So,
the first such exhibition was held in 2016 on the first floor of a residential building under construction, and then a gallery was opened there. Mostly Armenian designers took part in that show.
The coverage of the second exhibition is much wider, also because there were foreigners among the exhibitors. The exhibition was designed by BARDI Architectural Studio, and it is located in the lobby of the former Foreign Ministry building (architects Samvel Safaryan and Rafael Israelian, 1950s), which is now temporarily out of operation due to reconstruction. As in the case of the first Nerka Design Happening, this exposition also became an impetus for a new use of its site: then it opened
exhibition of graphic design - political poster.
18 designers from Armenia, Russia and Ukraine were invited to participate in Nerka Design Happening. The exhibition did not have a rigid program, so the range of projects is quite wide - from serial objects to exhibits that are essentially close to a work of art, and no conceptual integrity was traced in this set. Many works were previously presented at other exhibitions (in particular, at the Milan "Salon"), but there were also objects made especially for Nerka Design Happening (mainly by the authorship of Armenian participants). Lectures were also held within the framework of the exhibition.
The invited Russian designers were the participants of the Izba project. The rethinking of folk crafts, which can be clearly seen in many of the works of this group, inspired the organizers of the exhibition, and they considered it important to show this experience to the Armenian public and build on its basis a dialogue with the local professional community.
So, Sveta Gerasimova develops a mermaid motif in textiles.
Yaroslav Misonzhikov presented a children's ratchet toy and a candlestick, inspired by Russian folk household items.
There were a lot of works on the topic of indoor and cut flowers, among them - a project by Alexey Galkin and Olga Marchenko (Facultative works), who for the first time showed their latest works in Yerevan, pots and holders for them. Their main idea is that the parts of the stands can be disconnected if desired.
Ani Druzhinina's minimalist vase can be attributed to the same series.
The MEM ceramic vases created by Katya Tolstoy are inspired by the work of the Memphis group and Soviet park sculpture.
A minimalist approach to furniture design can be seen in two other Russian designers. Linearity, attention to detail, simple colors and shapes characterize the work of Maxim Maksimov ("Ascetic") - lamps, stands, hangers and other items made of steel plates. And Alexander Kanagin presented wooden furniture with a characteristic linear aesthetics, where one can trace the desire to emphasize the material as much as possible, leaving color in second place.
The composition of the participants from Armenia was more diverse - architects, designers, photographers - which was clearly visible in their works.
Sarko Meene presented her first work, where she delved into the philosophical aspects of the relationship and opposition of a man and a woman, presenting them in the form of contradictory combinations and structures - such as a glass table on two supports and an airy form made of metal mesh.
Sveta Khachatryan, turning to textiles, reinterprets the tradition of women making blankets for their daughters and grandchildren. The blanket acts as a symbol of shelter, protection, and it is characteristic that its pattern is composed of amulet symbols.
The exhibition also presents projects on more global topics, in particular, Veronika Barseghyan touches on the ecological issue - the disappearance of corals.
Photographer Vahan Stepanyan came up with a kind of "nostalgic object" dedicated to the legendary Armenian radio. This is a kind of postmodern game: cards with jokes and archival photographs are stored inside a retro radio, recalling a bygone era - both famous anecdotes and radio as the main media.
Vahan Avakyan created vases and lamps with a "texture" of triangular edges from polymer canvas.
Gor Shahbazyan presented a project for serial production - a cot that “grows” with the child.
Modifiable chairs by Tigran Amalbashyan have an ambition to become the “face” of modern Armenian design.
Another piece of furniture, Eduard Vaneskeian's chair, should become unique in its ergonomics; its forms are reminiscent of sculptures by Henry Moore and Joan Miró.
In the end, I would like to dwell on the works performed by the architects, which stand out against the general background. The Storaket bureau, already known for its school buildings, together with the Sphere design studio, is experimenting in the development of mobile, modifiable office furniture based on the Lego principle. Called Put-Put, the flexible steel frame and plywood construction offers the optimal solution for any space.
Architect Arsen Karapetyan created a kind of philosophical object, contemplating the relationship between the work and its creator, the equality of designer and design. The grid table, reminiscent of grotesque graph paper, is presented as a support for new ideas: architectural sketches symbolizing ideas are scattered on it, and concrete morphotypes hold them.
Probably the most original project of the exhibition is a parametric installation by the Skillshop team, which is the first in Armenia to experiment with creating parametric design objects. The floating fabric structure is reminiscent of the first works of Hernan Diaz Alonso and is uniquely combined with the Nerka Design Project logo - red origami.
