Lara Bohinc debuts at Design Miami’s Curio with ‘Afternoon Tea’

“The pandemic forced us all to spend more time at home, and I realised that I wanted my pieces to make you feel loved, cocooned and happy. I also wanted to create pieces that look like they are good enough to eat,” says Lara Bohinc of Bohinc Studio. The London-based designer recently marked her American debut – exhibiting with ‘Afternoon Tea’ introduced in Design Miami/’s Curio from 1-5 December 2021 by curator Natalie Kovacs. “The collection’s name is an appreciation of the sweet comfort of an afternoon tea - happy, joyful and indulgent moments, a time when friends and family meet; an occasion very much missed in recent times,” adds Bohinc.

The presentation gave viewers a peek into Bohinc’s most revelatory and feminine work to date. Conceived during Bohinc’s time of isolation in London, the new works are sculpted as functional fantasies, taking inspiration from sweet tactile rituals of ‘Afternoon Tea’ hence the title of the exhibition and this new body of work. “Materials play an important role in Lara’s practice, particularly with this playful edition of pieces. A departure from Lara’s geometric lexicon, this work expresses warmth through spherical language in a minimalistic form of optimism,” says Natalie Kovacs.

The exhibition includes five functional works sculpted to reflect their namesakes; Profiterole Table, Kipferl Desk, Patisserie Table, Afternoon Chair and the Kissing Armchair. The new pieces were showcased alongside Bohinc’s Moonrise wall lights for Roll and Hill and South Pole wall hanging from collaboration with Kasthall. The studio also displayed their new collection of furniture in the residential setting of a London townhouse for the London Design Festival 2021. Each floor presented a different living setting: the ground floor featured the dining area and study, the first floor - the living room and home library and the second floor showcased the bedroom with ensuite bathroom.

About Lara Bohinc

After a decade-long stint with Cartier, Lara Bohinc founded Bohinc Studio in 2016 for the exploration of furniture and object design. Bohinc’s design practice is rooted in a deep respect for the traditional principles of craft, she has also drawn on her knowledge of industrial techniques, fusing modernity with function. Bohinc has engaged in private and permanent public commissions such as Friendship Bench commissioned by Kensington and Chelsea Council for the Golborne Forum London, installed in 2017. Bohinc Studio has successfully launched Since the World is Round collection in 2018 and Planetaria collection to celebrate 50 years of man landing on the moon in 2019 during FuoriSalone in Milan and at the London Design Festival. She exhibited with Gallery Fumi at PAD, Nomad, Salon Art and Design and she had her first solo show at Museum for Architecture and Design MAO in Ljubljana in 2018.

About Natalie Kovacs

Natalie Kovacs is an independent curator of projects, exhibitions, programs and publications whose collaborative investigation of behaviour brings new experiential forms to contemporary art and the role of active performer to the audience. ‘Performative Architecture’ is a term she coined to best sum up her practice realizing projects such as RainRoom, The Domestikator, NeverEverland. Kovacs has collaborated with artists such as Avaf, Atelier Van Lieshout, Lita Albuequerque, Troika, Random International and Studio Drift to name a few