Design
Nacho Carbonell’s “living organisms”
‘Forest’ exhibition at Carpenter’s Workshop Gallery | Paris
Image courtesy of: Design Boom
Nacho Carbonell has created an incredible splash with his collection of products which question conventional design ideas. He explores tension between design and art, form and function, nature and culture. The Spanish artist graduated from Cardenal Herrera C.E.U. University in Spain before he continued his education at Design Academy Eindhoven. In 2010, Carbonell was named Designer of the Future at Design Miami/Basel.
Enchanting lights as sculptures.
Image courtesy of: Design Boom
Back in 2016, Carbonell debuted a collection called “Forest.” This show at Carpenters Workshop Gallery was a beautiful assortment of his pieces, defined by his iconic “fairy-tale” combination of functional lamps and living, organic sculptures. Everything in the collection has an otherworldly feeling to it.
Unique to this collection is the floor lamp concrete base range which uses a type of plaster that Carbonell invented. The works incorporate sand and textile hardener, which is then set around a steel frame. The end result is striking!
A photograph from Carbonell’s Armory Show.
Image courtesy of: Cultured Magazine
To enable people to understand his creations and peek into his creative process, Carbonell recreated a part of his Eindhoven studio. He brought his entire working table to New York City… allowing viewers to understand the spontaneous process behind his art.
About this special table, Carbonell said,”It holds past projects and future projects. It’s how I jump from one to another. For me that table represents the heart of the studio—it’s like my brain.”
Carbonell with his piece, “Big Round Chandelier 1”.
Image courtesy of: Roland Smits
Carbonell straddles the line between either producing an art object or a design object. He notes that he stays away from focusing on one versus the other because it is limiting. Creativity is free of borders, and he likes to think that objects have their own personalities.
“I like to see objects as living organisms, imagining them coming alive and being able to surprise you with their behavior. I want to create objects with my hands, then I can give them my personality. I turn them into communicative objects that can arouse one’s sensations and imagination. In short, what I want to create are objects with a fictional or fantasy element, that allow you to escape from everyday life.”
“Tiny Blue in Balance”, 2018. Steel frame, metal mesh, concrete, plaster and paverpol mix.
Dimensions are: 26.5″( h) x 27.5″( l) x 19.5″(w)
Image courtesy of: Anniversary Magazine
The importance of using locally-sourced materials is paramount. Carbonell feels that these materials are what makes the objects appear as living organisms…ones that virtually come alive and surprise you with their behavior. Everything is created with his own hands because he believes this imparts some part of his personality onto the sculptures. These tree-like mesh forms are unique and conversation-evoking… we can’t wait to see what Carbonell dreams up next!
