Milano Design Week 2023 / Showroom Gervasoni
TAO project by Federica Biasi
Via Spartaco, 34 Milano
17/23.04.2023, 10.00 – 20.00 h
Gervasoni and Federica Biasi present "TAO": a journey to discover Gervasoni’s world, between past and future.
"In Eastern philosophies, the Tao symbol – says the designer – otherwise also known as the yin and yang, represents the path, the becoming of things. I have imagined a path, rhythmed by the natural world and pure colours, that accompanies the visitor in a reading of the Gervasoni aesthetic world through rooms and places designed to exalt the past of the historic brand and highlight the new. The visitor will find himself immersed in the movement to be transported into Gervasoni’s universe”.
Space becomes more abstract and muffled: grids of high and low veiled curtains decorate and subdivide the spaces. The neutral, muted colour of HD surface's Argille collection, which covers and gives materiality to the walls, also finds continuity in the flooring, created by the company La Pietra Compattata, and proposed in a neutral guise to make the furnishings stand out. In this neutral box the natural element, which has always been present in the Gervasoni collections, accompanies the visitor: plants and flowers, framed by white cotton veils, follow one after the other along the entire path. Finally, a frame of wild flowers delimits and welcomes the visitor to an unexpected urban garden outside the showroom with the Gervasoni Outdoor living and dining proposals.
The Gervasoni showroom is the venue for the presentation of the new 2023 collections with products by Federica Biasi, Nendo, Federico Peri and Gabriele and Oscar Buratti.
SAMET
Design Federica Biasi
Samet is a modular sofa without rules, a multifunctional and configurable product that places the person as an active subject in the composition of their own space, encouraging them to experiment with new forms of use. Available in two variants, a classic high version and a floor-standing version that is even closer to the Thai imagery from which the design was inspired, it is presented in two compositions designed to create true islands of relaxation, one more articulated defined by overlapping shapes, the other instead more linear. Cosy and hospitable seats are juxtaposed with each other in regular and soft geometries, a dynamic design to create multiple types of more or less informal seating. Details, stitching and matelassé enrich a simple modularity that creates infinite compositions with a timeless aesthetic, from the most classic sofa to the most multifaceted, from the tidiest to the most disjointed.
YAKU
Design Gabriele e Oscar Buratti
Yaku is a collection composed of dining table and bench. Simplicity and essentiality are the keywords that define the project: the term Yaku is a reference to the Japanese tradition of experimenting with the combination of simple elements and refined compositions. Inspired by the island of Yakushima, which is part of the Ōsumi Islands archipelago, the Yaku collection is a hymn to wood in its purest forms: the primary wooden elements, in reference to the ancient forest that envelops the entire island, are presented in their essentiality, used in clean cuts that highlight sections and refined proportions, overlapping and slightly spaced out to create a delicate vanishing line. The components of the table and bench, characterised by simple geometric shapes, seem to be assembled in an elegant and sophisticated compositional framework, reminiscent of the ancient oriental game of joints designed to create symmetrical three-dimensional units. The products, made of MDF covered with multilaminar wood veneer in two different sizes, are ideal for decorating domestic spaces while maintaining a strong personality thanks to three special wood colours.
DAEN
Design Federico Peri
The new bookcase, which joins the Daen family of tables and storage units, reveals a transforming spirit thanks to its unusual combinations of materials. A versatile proposal, it is defined by a backdrop covered with a faux leather weave, ideal for creating a decorative panel that makes the product recognisable when used against a wall. Characterised by pure, geometric volumes, the collection's strong point is the coexistence of different materials that once again exalts the company's mastery in creating material and aesthetic contrasts that dynamically dialogue with one another.
Completing the various indoor settings are the iconic Gervasoni collections: Paola Navone's Ghost and Loll and Brick and Gray and Brass, and Cristina Celestino's Plumeau bed.
BRISE
Design Federica Biasi
Federica Biasi expands the Brise collection, designed for enjoying conviviality in the open air. Literally breeze, it aims to refer to that pleasant feeling of a breeze that mitigates the summer heat to enjoy relaxation en plain air and accompany happy, carefree moments. A collection that is lively, elegant and sparkling at the same time, Brise evokes Art Noveau, the floral, liberty style, defined by ornamental and decorative lines inspired by nature to harmonise with it. The freedom to compose the space around the outdoor table inspires the Brise chair proposal, with a slightly curved tubular stainless steel frame and seat and backrest in WoodEvolution, a resistant material suitable for making the most of very fine thicknesses. It is precisely the processing of the WoodEvolution backrest laser-cut that identifies what is peculiar to the collection: the creation of a perforated texture reminiscent of Vienna straw. The backrest elements are fixed to the structure with a precious tone-on-tone coloured nautical webbing. Designed to match the seating, the Brise tables also suggest new ways of thinking about outdoor dining, whether for many guests or a few intimates. Available in different sizes and with round, rectangular or square tops, they have slender, light tubular stainless steel bases, while the tops, available in perforated galvanised sheet metal or concrete, create patterns that recall those of the seating. All proposals in the Brise collection are available in three different colours, to create monochrome areas or to play with different combinations.
KASANE
Design Nendo
Another outdoor novelty is the Kasane collection, designed by the Japanese studio Nendo. "Overlapping" in Japanese, Kasane is born from a play of joints and overlapping of different elements, in which each product becomes a sculpture with soft, sinuous shapes. Inspired by the way cups, by stacking them one by one, gradually become taller, the collection of ottomans and tables is characterised by the rhythmic expression of the stacked edges and the material texture of the clay that defines the soul of the product. The table bases and ottomans are made of expanded polymer, while the table top is made of MDF: all components are then covered with a thin layer of clay in earth colours.
Together with these proposals, various pieces of furniture from Paola Navone's Inout collection, modular sofas from Gabriele and Oscar Buratti's Flair collection, Federica Biasi's Hashi collection and Chiara Andreatti's Guna collection complete the space. An evocative selection from the extensive Gervasoni Outdoor collection tells of the many ways of imagining and experiencing time in the open air.
Progetto Federica Biasi
Styling Sonia Pravato, Costanza Manzoni