Design Mate's Editorial Blog: “It’s Appropriate!”

Anna Borges travels back to the future and applauds to Olga Engel, Nastya Sotnikova is being nostalgic about Venice and teaches us how to love film, while Ira Kostareva explains, why Denis Milovanov is also a little Baroque. Read more in the Design Mate’s editorial blog for February.

Anna Borges editorial captain

4 best materials of the month:

Magnified by Gio Ponti Richard Ginori in Paris

BRAFA 2019 the eyes of an architect, decorator, painter and collector

Natalya Belonogova: "My projects are built on the subtle sensations"

10 questions about the originality, collections, present, and future of Russian design / Olga Engel

4 photos of the month:

A comeback to February 2018: Design Mate x Olga Engel. Our most dearly beloved backstage

A comeback to February 2018: Design Mate x Olga Engel. Sparks are real!

A comeback to February 2018: Design Mate x Olga Engel. Memories lamp and photographer Mikhail Loskutov

A comeback to February 2018: Design Mate x Olga Engel. Emotions lamps

Open MIC:

In Moscow, the collectable design galleries blossom like stout snowdrops. Just two years ago we were just getting familiar with the new word, and now we have a new gallery almost every week. By the way, congratulations on opening for Mirra (although yet only in pop-up project format at Moss hotel) and Tirage 1/1. So, we’re getting more and more art ready to give itself for good hands free in the gallery PROUN and at random prices as part of the Kosti closed auction. The art has slowly occupied the entire walls and even the floor of Malakhov’s apartment and sets new sales records at Cosmoscow. The art is everywhere: the art and the collectable.

Few days ago, Interior + Design magazine awarded its first (updated) prize, and there were two highly important aspects: in the Art category the prize was awarded to no one, while the winner in the Design category was Olga Engel, who excited unanimous admiration and received large bonus from Museums (both Museum of Decorative-Applied and Folk Art and our favorite Moscow Museum of Design). They even promised to accept Engel’s works for their collections. So, here we come up with the question: what does it mean ‘to accept’? Are they ready ‘to accept’ the collectable pieces by designer widely recognized abroad? Are they ready ‘to accept’ the works existing in only 8 – 12 pieces worldwide? Are they read ‘to accept’ the items costing ten thousands euros per piece?*

Last February, just one year ago, Olga and me were taking pictures of her new items that soon were about to go to Collectible, captivate the notorious neighbors Pierre Bonnefille and Xavier Lust, as well as to provoke interest of the gallery owner Armel Soyer. But then, all these accomplishments were only a  matter of far future. I remember, that day the streets were covered with snow, the fashion guy Loskutov was running around shooting portrait photos of Olga, while my team and  me were tuning up and looking at the bunch of small light bulbs, wires, biscuit porcelain and the most importantly those (wow, look how big they are!) sitting ‘emotion man’-shaped lamps. That was the first time in my life when I saw a blacksmith forging metal in person. There was a lot of heat, the sparks were flying around, everyone was wearing beards and somehow all these felt genuinely Russian. There is no way to fall in love with the item more than when you see it being conceived and born with your own bare eyes, since then you start to understand its very essence. 

Then, there were Collectible, Armel Soyer Paris, PAD Paris, Armel Soyer Alps, PAD Geneve and announcement of personal exhibition at Armel’s Gallery in Paris. Olga is going through mind-blowing series of events, while I still cannot believe that the meeting I just recollected happened only one year ago, I guess Olga is pleased with another victory (we congratulate her from the bottom of our heart and gave her probably the loudest applause in the hall during award!), while I’m pleased to watch the creation of history. This is a really exciting process, just like fire and water, like molding and forging). 

*By the way, we also don’t mind ‘to accept’ few pieces for our own personal collection, we’d really like the three-level red sofa ‘Vitra’, but, well, all we can do know is to sigh and keep saving!

Irina Kostareva deputy editor

4 best materials of the month:

Contemporary craft: the 9 finalists of the award LOEWE Craft Prize

The revival of crafts as a brand Zanat did the Bosnian thread popular

Hermes and Gucci: how fashion brands began to learn the craft

Russian crafts: how they live and how to develop

4 photos of the month:

CABINET BY BEATRICE SERRE DURING GRISAILLE EXHIBITION AT THE RECENTLY OPENED TIRAGE 1/1 GALLERY. THE BENCHMARK COMBINATION OF GOLD AND BLUE COLORS IS THE REFERENCE TO THE BYZANTINE ICON PAINTING TRADITION.

STAINED GLASSES AT MY FAVORITE NOVOSLOBODSKAYA STATION. “INCREASED DEGREE OF DRAMATISM, OVERSATURATION WITH COLOR AND DIMMED CAVERN-LIKE LIGHT”, HERE IS THE QUOTE FROM THE WONDERFUL BOOK ‘MOSCOW SUBWAY. ARCHITECTURAL GUIDE’.

PICTURE FROM ART FOR ALL EXHIBITION AT PROUN MOSCOW GALLERY WE PREVIOUSLY TOLD OUR READERS ABOUT THIS MONTH

BEFORE KIRIL SEREBRENNIKOV’S PLAY ‘BAROQUE’ AT GOGOL CENTER

Open MIC:

Earlier this month I went to Baroque paly at Gogol Center. They play was about rebels, and the following quote was used as an epigraph: “The Baroque person is always lonely like a pearl of irregular shape – it cannot be incrusted anywhere, it corrupts the regularity with its irregular nature thus claiming only the place at the center of composition”.     

This is exactly the reason why we love crafts and handmade so much. We admire it because of its wonderful irregular shapes and the fact that any item bearing the touch of master immediately becomes the central element of composition. To understand by point, just look at any work by Denis Milovanov: from the perspective of meaning, he is also a little Baroque. On the other hand, the crafts require knowledge and expertise, and it is so great that the young designers are appealing to them more and more often. Another great thing is that the factories like Gzhel also adopt open-minded attitude and are ready to re-interpret its heritage in the modern context. Here I just have to mention the old DM’s article with tips for designers and artists on how the artist / designer to produce your collection of porcelain which is still relevant, by the way. Soon we are going to treat our readers with another article about promising design contests focusing on for arts and crafts, so don’t forget to check the news feed. And here’s another spoiler: our new hot topic for the first spring month will be Design as Art, so we probably will invite the guys from Russian and London offices of Phillips Auction House.

Anastasia Sotnikova special projects editor and producer

4 best materials of the month:

Six young designers Rising Talent Awards 2019

How to spend 250 000 on furniture and decor for Studio apartments

Moscow Proun: how independent art gallery

Bauhaus and pottery. In search of a new formal language

4 photos of the month:

VENICE IN FEBRUARY, captured ON FILM

New spot to meet for Breakfast in the favorite area

One of the halls of the State Historical Museum

photo by Igor Vereshchagin in the exhibition "Objective reality", held till 14 April in Moscow multimedia art museum

Open MIC:

The beginning of February caught me in Venice, where I interviewed the Alcantara Executive Directoramong other industry core media journalists, walked on the island of Venice International University and couldn’t stop wondering how the entire Italian city once managed to grow out of water. I wandered alone at the genius Fondaco dei Tedeschi designed by Rem Koolhaas, took pictures on film and joggled at down – this recently has become by standard routine for every new city I visit.

This journey has become a metronome that set my life rhythm for the rest of the month – relaxed, but consistent and accurate at the same time. I managed to evenly distribute my work and leisure time, haven’t faced any unexpected surprised or situations, where you just have to suddenly take off and run somewhere. I finally had an opportunity to visit some new places ‘not sometimes later on occasion’, but rather right after official opening, For example, I had a chance to visit The Depot at Lesnaya – my favorite street just few minutes away from house, where I leave. Here the trolleys change shifts at the background of Zuyev Community Center and office complex on Belaya Square. Now I’m looking forward to open the spring and summer seasons with morning jogs across the district and further breakfast at Stall by Berezova – a great spot previously described in detail by my colleague Sasha Sutormina. By the way, this month Sasha managed to interview Natalya Belonogova, so don’t miss the transcription of this magic conversation accompanied by wonderful pictures by Dasha. Oh, The Depot also has a bar called The Tourist featuring the interior design by Ilya Gulyanets – a separate gratitude to him for the windows made of old stained glass found at  ChronosFactor workshop. In general The Depot is yet expecting many upcoming updates that will determine its target audience and the desired way of communication with Moscow residents and visitors.

New people, new places new projects – that's what was brought to us by this long awaited, but somehow suddenly started spring. For our team, it’s about to be very special season. I must admit, we feel a bit anxious due to the huge scale of all the project we’ve planned, but I’m pretty sure that this anxiety will be followed by success. I guess I currently abstain from making specific announcement and just say that this spring you will definitely have a good place to go or even run together with Design Mate – although not at the down, but in the company of friends and like-minded fellows.