Furnishings however now not as we realize it: Marco Campardo’s radical designs

As a kid rising up in a small the city outdoor Venice, Marco Campardo would ceaselessly assist his father, a wood worker, in his workshop. However it might take years for Campardo to realize the worth of that craft and go back to it in his personal observe, after an interlude as a graphic dressmaker. Speedy ahead to 2023, and Campardo has simply been awarded the Ralph Saltzman Prize for his ingenious furnishings, which shall be exhibited on the Design Museum in London (February 2 to April 3).

“These days I will be able to in point of fact experience and know how necessary that dating was once within the workshop with my dad right through my early life,” he says. Campardo, who now lives in London, even collaborated together with his father on one undertaking, George (2019, ongoing), comprising furnishings made via gluing in combination layers of discarded fabrics from picket veneer manufacturing.

George is likely one of the initiatives that shall be on display on the Design Museum. The prize celebrates rising product designers and was once established in 2021 via Lisa Saltzman, on behalf of the Saltzman Circle of relatives Basis, in honour of her father Ralph — the past due co-founder of textile corporate Designtex. Campardo was once nominated along 4 different designers.

In addition to furnishings items for private and non-private purchasers, Campardo designs exhibitions and site-specific installations, together with on the Macro Museum in Rome, Tate Fashionable in London and quite a lot of nationwide pavilions on the Venice Artwork and Structure Biennales. This April his paintings shall be exhibited at Milan Design Week.

Campardo is pushed via procedure and experimentation. “As a rule, concepts come from experimenting with my arms, as an alternative of drawing,” he says. “Another way I don’t get excited. It’s so other ranging from discovering a procedure and seeing what you’ll do, moderately than drawing one thing after which discovering the best device to create that form. As a result of for me, one is design, and one is ornament.”

The paintings he feels highest expresses this means is Jello (2022, ongoing). Shaping polyurethane resin with a rotational moulding methodology, Campardo makes Tetris-like, vibrant furnishings. He makes use of trees frames and cardboard to solid the playful, chunky gadgets; the curves and wrinkles from the cardboard are printed on the floor of each merchandise.

“For me it’s necessary that the article stays useful,” says Campardo. Even if he makes a seat held in combination via sugar, you’ll nonetheless sit down on it. For a store window show at Selfridges in London he created demountable block-based tables and cabinets, referred to as Reversible, binding granular expanded clay with melted sugar.

Whilst Campardo’s items replicate his tendency for experimentation, additionally they are compatible into his concepts in regards to the evolving function of furnishings design. “I feel we live in a second during which identification is essential, particularly for the shoppers,” he says. “Having items at house which might be distinctive is helping replicate the truth that they’re distinctive as an individual.”

“I feel those purchasers aren’t simply searching for artwork you’ll cling at the wall and appreciate, they’re searching for artwork this is unfold out all over the home,” he says. “Filling this hole with items that may be regarded as artwork however are nonetheless useful is essential in my observe.”

His means targets to battle the Instagram-driven, world shipping-enabled homogenisation of interiors. “As a substitute of getting some other Eames desk that is the same to the remainder of the sector, you get one thing this is distinctive however can nonetheless be used.”

This calls for funding — no affordable heavily produced items right here — however Campardo is aware of there are consumers prepared to take the jump. “There are sensible creditors which might be very courageous and put money into younger designers and product makers,” he says. “They are able to really feel the possibility of development a suite that’s not founded handiest on established or previous designers — but in addition fresh designers.”

This era of younger designers additionally addresses sustainability extra explicitly, and shies clear of “greenwashing”. Campardo is passionate when explaining that for a product to be actually sustainable, it will have to be recyclable, now not simply recycled. The use of recycled fabrics, he says, isn’t excellent sufficient.

“As a rule, recycling is downcycling,” he provides. “Downcycling method you might be the usage of a subject material that doubtlessly may also be recycled however then you definately combine it with different fabrics that aren’t recyclable. You aren’t fixing the issue, you might be including new issues for the long run.”

Although craft, the way forward for the house and sustainability are all obviously necessary for Campardo, his obsession lies in subject material experimentation, and this shall be obtrusive on the Design Museum showcase thru samples, pictures and moulds appearing his paintings processes. As a part of the prize, he’s going to obtain a £5,000 bursary to give a boost to his paintings.

Campardo was once nominated via Edward Barber of the London-based commercial design studio Barber Osgerby — a tradition he admires. “I began via speculating with design, and now I get a prize for commercial designers,” Campardo says. “It’s confirming the reality we wish to reconsider the best way we understand commercial design. The arena is searching for solutions which might be much less vintage, much less canonic, extra experimental.”

designmuseum.org

Learn about our newest tales first — apply @FTProperty on Twitter or @ft_houseandhome on Instagram