Arts & Crafts & Design - Time according to Alessandro Mendini and his artisans

The exhibition “Arts & Crafts & Design: Time according to Alessandro Mendini and his artisans” was presented by the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie during the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva. The project was developed by the Cologni Foundation for the Métiers d’Art in collaboration with the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain and the support of Vacheron Constantin, which has always been actively engaged in the protection and promotion of the artistic crafts.

Each of the twelve works was designed by Alessandro Mendini and created by master artisans specialised in different crafts. Giampiero Bodino, Richemont Group’s Art Director, designed the setting while Milanese photographer Emanuele Zamponi illustrated the creation of each object.

The intent of “Arts & Crafts & Design. Time according to Alessandro Mendini and his artisans” is to showcase the cooperative relationships between art, design and artistic crafts and to pay tribute to the master artisans’ incredible skill. The artist’s and designer’s inspiration, talent and vision enable the craftspeople to interpret the contemporary world through their extraordinary dexterity, thus enabling the continuous progress of techniques, styles and areas of expertise that make up an exceptional and extremely rich cultural heritage.

The theme of Time was chosen as a tribute to Fine Watchmaking, a world in which design, technique and artistic crafts are intimately connected.

The creations designed by Alessandro Mendini were made by renowned Italian artisans out of thirteen different materials:

Zero. Bisazza, mosaic
One. Venini, blown glass
Two. Comitato per la Promozione del Merletto di Cantù, lace
Three. Superego Design, ceramic
Four. Slide, lacquered polyurethane
Five. Galleria Paolo Curti & Annamaria Gambuzzi, lacquered wood
Six. Giovanni Scacchi, methacrylate
Seven. Gori Lab, bronze
Eight. Fedeli Restauri, inlaid wood
Nine. Cleto Munari, gold-plated brass
Ten. Henry glass, sandblasted glass
Eleven. Carlo Poggio Design, resin and iron
Twelve. Riva 1920, natural wood