Nendo’s solo exhibition in Milan to showcase
chairs that mix printed and natural grains

Milan 2014: Japanese design studio Nendo has created a range of chairs with wood grain patterns printed onto natural timber for a forthcoming solo show in Milan.

Nendo‘s series features six chairs, each one mixing a different combination of wood and printed grain.

The Print-chairs feature two square wooden panels atop four legs connected by two pieces of interlocking metal. The simplicity of the design highlights the intricate series of patterns the Japanese studio has printed onto the seat and back rest of the chairs.

“We experimented with different degrees of combination,” said the designers. “For some seats we layered two different woodgrain patterns, and for others printed enlarged, abstracted woodgrain patterns onto the existing pattern.”

In one example, the studio printed an enlargement of a grain typically found in a single piece of wood onto one with a finer grain. The result is a distorted perspective with the viewer uncertain of which grain is indigenous to the wood and which has been superimposed.

In another instance, the team changed the angle of the original grain and printed it over the existing one.

“We also experimented with other materials, printing a marble pattern onto the wood,” said Nendo.

Nendo also experimented with colour in the series. In one chair, a pale palette typically found in woods such as pine and birch gradually fades into deeper shades such as those seen in mahogany and teak.

“Thanks to printing technology we could make fine adjustments like the scale, density and colours over and over, bringing out the charm and attraction of natural materials from a variety of angles,” Nendo said.

In perhaps the most extreme combination, Nendo created a chair out of chipboard and then printed a grain over the top.

The six chairs will be exhibited at the studio’s solo exhibition Works by Nendo at Via delle Erbe 2 in Milan’s Brera district, during the city’s design week in April.

Other items to feature in the show include glass furniture patterned with visible brush strokes.

Photographs are by Hiroshi Iwasaki.

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• Furniture
• Design