Dutch designer Jurgen Bey finds alphabets in the wings of a butterfly, aspires to sweeping with a duster of peacock feathers such as he saw used in a temple in India and transforms ordinary ceramics with metallic silver glaze. This continual questioning of the nature of beauty has ensured that he has brought his unusually sensitive approach to work with John Paul Gaultier, Tokyo Bank and the University of Holland.
Fellow Nederlander Hella Jongerius is a consummate graphic designer although she works in the 3D vernacular of home wares, ceramics, soft furnishings and interiors. Her approach is always to go into the archives of a company or institution (I guess they have those sorts of resources in Holland) for ideas that need to be brought to light in the contemporary context.
Inspired by shards of pottery, embroidered samplers and imperfection, she brings the self-confessed woman’s touch to the furniture industry that sees 80% of its purchases made by women for her own products, for Ikea and other manufacturers.
UK-doyen Jasper Morrison’s work is the complete antithesis of any kind of pictorial or ornamental styling. Free of embellishment and even colour, his pared down simplicity of approach is much sought-after by retailers such as Habitat, Rosenthal China, Alessi, and Muji.
Forthcoming exhibitions in Tokyo, London and Milan (these designers certainly get around, don’t they?) is a collection of 200 objects called Supernormal, because they have a desirable, undesigned quality – the orange plastic handled scissors, a metal bottle opener and a pitchfork are more valid pieces of design for Morrison for having evolved their forms over time, seemingly not being designed at all.
All this somewhat pales into insignificance in the face of the overwhelming presence of Spaniard Jaime Hayan, a former graffiti artist and skateboarder. Clients seem to dance to the whims of this 33 year old, who is likely one of the most influential and talented contemporary designers in the world.
We know this because he has been the right hand man of Olivier Toscani at Benetton in its heyday, created a cult empire out of his achingly desirable devilbot toys, ArtQuitect bathroom “furniture” and his spectacular museum and retail installations. His style has been described tongue-in-cheek as Mediterranean Digital Baroque, for want of a better term, and his outpouring of pictorial and three dimensional art forms range in scale from 5cm to 50m. He says he just does it all for fun and is inspired by “whatever” - you watch, he says, I’ll be inspired by Africa now.
It will surely be a rare privilege to see “whatever” take Jaime Hayons will have on his trip to Africa.
