Nilufar Gallery presents SCARPETTE & CAROLINO, a showcase of Danish/Italian studio OLDER’s collections of stools and serving wagons. The playful and fun designs are meant to add elements of joy to any living environment, offering useful tools as well as companionship. The whimsical set-up will be staged at Nilufar Depot, from February 19th to March 5th.
SCARPETTE and CAROLINO were conceived by the duo OLDER, Letizia Caramia and Morten Thuesen, during Christmas 2020, a lockdown period spent together at Caramia’s father’s studio in Pietrasanta, a seaside location in Tuscany. To beat moments of dullness, the duo let themselves be inspired by the multitude of leftover materials and scrapped iron found in the studio and started to play with them; by welding, cutting and painting in a new, fun way, objects started to come to life and magically emerge from the scraps. Their design, shape and texture spoke an immediately kind, fantastical and child-like language that reflected the Christmas’ state of mind. The first prototypes were handcrafted by Caramia’s father, Gianni, himself a Tuscan artisan. “As lockdown isolation is a lonely affair, our idea was to create a small series of friends to bring us company and warmth, somewhat along the lines of Geppetto and Pinocchio” declares OLDER. The new objects, instant generators of warmth and joy, represent an imaginary companion before being an object.
SCARPETTE and CAROLINO’s bright colours were inspired by fictional flags that OLDER fantasised about while mind-travelling during lockdown. SCARPETTE is a round wooden seat built with three legs in a solid iron, powder coated pillar. The bottom of each iron leg has then been cut, ipped and welded together to give the impression of a foot, which is where the name SCARPETTE, “little shoes” in Italian, comes from.
CAROLINO Serving Wagon, on the other hand, was designed as a tool to transport breakfast, lunch or dinner around the house, with the stomach of the trolley offering a storage space. When not in use, the wagon turns into the home’s mascot, a companion to save us from lonely moments.
Nina Yashar, founder of Nilufar Gallery, discovered both collections over an aperitivo at OLDER’s. SCARPETTE and CAROLINO instantly caught her eye with their coincidental aesthetic, lightness and attractive joy. Yashar originally met OLDER soon after the duo moved from Paris to Milan: “We bonded with Nina because we believe in the same things; a glass of wine, moments of conviviality and a holistic understanding of design” says the duo.
The Setup at Nilufar Depot wants to convey the same energy of the pieces, one of friendship, comfort and trust, through a carefully combined mix of objects, music and light. SCARPETTE and CAROLINO are both going to be showcased as sculptures and in use, to fully communicate their reason to exist while at the same time find new friends in the gallery’s visitors.
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