Dezeen Magazine

Former Aram Gallery exhibitors nominate emerging designers for new exhibition to celebrate fifteenth anniversary

Thomas Heatherwick, Bethan Laura Wood and more nominate emerging designers for Aram Gallery exhibition

Thomas HeatherwickIneke HansJasper Morrison and Bethan Laura Wood are among 15 established designers showing their work at the Aram Gallery in London, alongside work by an emerging designer of their choice.

Designers Select Designers is an exhibition organised to mark the 15th anniversary of the gallery, which was established by Zeev Aram in 2002 to promote contemporary design.

Former Aram Gallery exhibitors nominate emerging designers for new exhibition to celebrate fifteenth anniversary
London-based architect and designer Thomas Heatherwick is showing his Twisted Cabinet in Bog Oak at the Aram Gallery exhibition

Taking place from 8 March to 28 April 2018, the exhibition sees a range of well-known designers – all former Aram Gallery exhibitors – select new talents to display projects alongside their own.

The roster also includes Martino Gamper, Max Lamb, Michael Anastassiades, Michael Marriott, Pearson Lloyd, Peter Marigold, Ptolemy Mann, Sebastian BergneShin Azumi, Gitta Gschwendtner and Industrial Facility.

Former Aram Gallery exhibitors nominate emerging designers for new exhibition to celebrate fifteenth anniversary
Heatherwick's work is shown alongside Markus Kayser's Solar Sinister glass bowls, made using a 3D printer

London-based designer Thomas Heatherwick – these days best known for architecture projects like the Zeitz MOCAA gallery in Cape Town and the Bund Finance Centre in Shanghai – selected German designer Markus Kayser.

Heatherwick will show his Twisted Cabinet in Bog Oak, which is made from two symmetrical, curved panels that are positioned at 90-degree angles.

Kayser's corresponding project, Solar Sinister, features bowls made using a 3D printing machine that uses sand and solar energy to make glass in desert climates.

Former Aram Gallery exhibitors nominate emerging designers for new exhibition to celebrate fifteenth anniversary
Ineke Hans is showing her Plektra stool series for Finnish brand Iittala, alongside the work of Mark Laban (main image)

Dutch designer Ineke Hans has chosen to display her Plektra stool for Finnish brand Iittala.  The stackable stool doubles as a side table or a stepping stool for children.

Her chosen designer Mark Laban presents his Rustic Stools, made using a computer-led cutting device that was programmed to create a ribbed surface.

Made from dyed wood fibres bonded in resin, the stool features a semi-oval surface with four legs that taper outwards.

"What I find very interesting about Mark's work is that he experiments with digital means of production, and by doing so he has managed to create furniture that radiates the charm of the handmade and crafted," said Hans.

Former Aram Gallery exhibitors nominate emerging designers for new exhibition to celebrate fifteenth anniversary
Jasper Morrison's Thinking Man's Chair was originally showcased by Zeev Aram in 1987

Minimalist Jasper Morrison, whose recent designs include a translucent bar of soap and a bookshelf for publisher Penguin, chose to present his 30-year-old Thinking Man's Chair for the exhibition.

Zeev Aram first exhibited the curved tubular chair in a graduate show back in 1987, where it was spotted by Giulio Cappellini and put into production.

Matching Morrison's clean aesthetic, Theolonius Goupil's Vases des Launes is a series of minimalist, oval vases made from continuous lengths of clay.

Former Aram Gallery exhibitors nominate emerging designers for new exhibition to celebrate fifteenth anniversary
Theolonius Goupil's series Vases des Launes are each made from one continuous piece of clay

For her contribution, Bethan Laura Wood exhibited her Particle Jewellery stand, which features a geometric stack of wooden offcuts.

She picked Fernando Laposse as her accompanying designer, whose Totomoxtle project is a surfacing veneer made using Mexican corn husks.

"Fernando is doing very interesting work exploring the possibilities of materials important to Mexico," said Wood.

Max Lamb's Ali Bar chair is made from a solid aluminium bar

London designer Max Lamb is showing his Ali Bar chair, which is made from a single aluminium bar.

Similarly, his nominated designer Parsha Gerayesh uses single lengths of steel wire to create his Mono Eyewear.

Parsha Gerayesh's Mono Eyewear uses single lengths of steel wire

"Parsha's Mono 2.0's are intelligent, original and highly producible and deserve to be so," said Lamb.

"They are like a mini automatic production version of my handmade Ali Bar Chair," he continued.  "Despite their obvious difference in material, process, scale and function, there remains an immediate visual similarity between two projects as a concept their singularity and process is equal."

The Offset seat by Drill Design combines elements of a stool and a chair

Contemporary textile artist Ptolemy Mann's Winter Solstice is showing a densely woven, multi-coloured tapestry. This sits alongside Catarina Riccabona's Paper Yarn Panels, which combines paper yarn with cotton extracted from offcuts of Mann's fabrics.

Meanwhile, Japanese designer Shin Azumi presents his Nara coat stand, which resembles a deer antler, along the Offset seat by Drill Design, which combines elements of a stool and a chair.

Former Aram Gallery exhibitors nominate emerging designers for new exhibition to celebrate fifteenth anniversary
Italian designer Martino Gamper selected a piece from his Round & Square collection

Italian designer Martino Gamper chose a chair from his Round & Square collection, while his chosen designer Tiago Almeida is exhibiting a bookshelf from his Wood series, made from recycled plastic and wood.

Michael Anastassiades is showing his geometric Floor Composition lamp, along with 4Decimi, a collection of 12 pendant steel lamps by Martinelli Venezia.

4Decimi is a collection of 12 pendant steel lamps by Martinelli Venezia

London-based designer Michael Marriott presents a set of wall-mounted coat hooks alongside a brass pull handles by Royal College of Art graduate Felix de Pass, while Peter Marigold showcases six textured cabinets beside the corrugated ceramic tableware of Ray G Brown.

And Pearson Lloyd is showing workplace furniture beside a sofa designed by Lucy Kurrein.

The series is completed by Sebastian Bergne and Sam Lloyd Morris, Gitta Gschwendtner and Katy West, and Industrial Facility and LeviSarha.

More images

Drill Design
Former Aram Gallery exhibitors nominate emerging designers for new exhibition to celebrate fifteenth anniversary
Fernando Laposse
Former Aram Gallery exhibitors nominate emerging designers for new exhibition to celebrate fifteenth anniversary
Mark Laban
Former Aram Gallery exhibitors nominate emerging designers for new exhibition to celebrate fifteenth anniversary
Tiago Almeida
Former Aram Gallery exhibitors nominate emerging designers for new exhibition to celebrate fifteenth anniversary
Bethan Laura Wood
Catarina Ricca
Ray G Brown
Ptolemy Mann
Peter Marigold
Pearson Lloyd
Michael Marriott
Michael Anastassiades
Lucy Kurrein
Levi Sarha
Katy West
Industrial Facility
Gitta Gschwendtner