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Lorenzo Vitturi repurposes Established & Sons furniture for sculptural installation

Lorenzo Vitturi repurposes Established & Sons furniture for sculptural installation

East London-based artist Lorenzo Vitturi deconstructed products from the Established & Sons collection, and reassembled them into disjointed sculptures, for an installation at London Design Festival.

Titled Remixed Properties, the installation saw Vitturi take pieces from the British design brand's archives, as well as new products from its current collection, to create a series of site-specific artworks.

Lorenzo Vitturi repurposes Established & Sons furniture for sculptural installation

Each piece of furniture was dismantled and reconstructed to create five completely new sculptural forms. Included in the installation is a reworking of Established & Son's well-known Stack drawers designed by Raw Edges, while another of the sculptures incorporates the vibrant, graphic wood block print designed by Richard Woods.

The pieces also feature various materials and objects from Vitturi's studio. These found objects are things that the artist picked up around east London, where he is based, or from other countries during his travels.

The central sculpture, for instance, is topped with a striped plastic teapot that Vitturi acquired from a local market in Lagos, Nigeria, which local people would use to wash their feet.

Lorenzo Vitturi repurposes Established & Sons furniture for sculptural installation

According to the artist, by mixing items from different cultures, and taking objects out of their usual context, he aims to completely transform their intended function to give each sculpture its own story.

"I like to mix together things that don't have any obvious connection to create a theme or sculpture that is made of hundreds of stories coming from different places," he said.

Lorenzo Vitturi repurposes Established & Sons furniture for sculptural installation

"Usually at Established & Sons, you see single products, each with their own story and aesthetic, so I am taking fragments from the brand history and mixing them together to create a different story and offer a new perspective on the design."

In a bid to further his exploration of different forms and colours, Vitturi also scattered brightly coloured pigment over certain areas of the sculptures. For him, pigment is the strongest and purest way to use colour.

Each free-standing piece was built in situ at the Established & Sons exhibition space in Tilney Court near Old Street, and was showcased as part of this year's London Design Festival.

"I like to improvise and experiment with the materials in the space," said Vitturi. "I don't decide everything before the installation, I keep some things to chance, and feed off the energy I get from the space."

Lorenzo Vitturi repurposes Established & Sons furniture for sculptural installation

Vitturi chose products that he believed would celebrate the materials, textures and colours characteristic to Established & Sons.

"Established & Sons has always celebrated aesthetic purity and operated at the intersection of art and design," said Established & Sons design director Sebastian Wrong.

"Trusting and handing over control to an artist was something that seemed both exciting and natural for us. It will enrich what we do as a brand and how we think about our work," he added.

Lorenzo Vitturi repurposes Established & Sons furniture for sculptural installation

Other exhibitions from this year's London Design Festival, which ran from 15 to 23 September, include a contemporary tea party installation inside Fortnum & Mason by Scholten & Baijings, and an exhibition of furniture by emerging Uruguayan design studios at Aram Gallery.