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PÁG. 48 ARIK LEVY PIECES AS POWERFUL AS A STONE Only five words—love, intensity, vision, nature and flexibility—describe the project with which the Israeli artists debuted at Design Miami, hand in hand with the Spanish firm Compac. Interview Greta Arcila The people involved in the design world know how to recognize ‘a good piece of work’, and those who are part of the world of art have the aptitude for spotting when ‘there’s art.’ This is a very interesting situation because both worlds are still very sectored. According to Arik Levy: “To take art to the industry, the first thing we have to do is: knowing the industry. This is when my knowledge of design, engineering, techniques and technologies comes into play, for as an artist I have more access to freedom, to the ability to analyze and create something new in several different levels,” the Israeli designer—who has surprised everyone with his spectacular Génesis collection, created in collaboration with the Compac Spanish brand, and presented during Design Miami at the end of 2016—markedly point out. How was it that you came in contact with Compac? “We were introduced by a friend in common and it was like falling in love: someone introduced you to a woman or a man and there’s this excellent connection right from the start. What is more interesting was that when I researched the company— which I knew nothing about at that point. I did not want to design flowers or draw patterns. I’m not interested in that. What attracted my attention was coming up with a project that was both design and artistic, at the same time. I want to connect art with technology, and take my audience and myself to a new place. The firm understood that and when one has a relationship with a company that is ready for transitioning, and it is ready to follow down that path, the result is fabulous.” One of the things that stands out in Arik’s work for Génesis is that it shows the most rustic of details and, nevertheless, the most novel. It preserves the essence of the new materials. How did this dialogue with a material like quartz come to be? “Truly, the material is quartz-based, so it’s natural. But is built in such a manner that it is not natural at all, as it is man-made. Its manufacturing is important because in this case, it is not about the fabrication but rather the technique
and technology united to create a ‘new nature’. Quartz has an incredible characteristic: is practically indestructible; you can neither break nor scratch it, and it can’t be stained, either. If we compare it to a normal stone, the stone poses all kinds of problems: if you have ceramic tiles and you drop a glass on them, the tile will break. On the other hand, quartz will never be damaged; it has fantastic properties that are applicable to architecture. It can be used for façades and walls, to be walked upon and more. When I understood all of this, I realized that the link I was missing was creating new perception, something people are not used to see, but they would recognize.” Arik has experience working with several materials: crystal, clay, marble… almost anything. “That is right”, the artist confirms. “Nonetheless, quartz particularities make it into a complex material and simple at the same time. The interesting thing is that it comes from crystal and it is not completely liquid, yet it flows and later its particles become solid. It is during this transition period that is especially important to be observant of the process, as it requires of a lot of trial and error to understand how is it developing and then adjust the parameters. So there is always a certain degree of surprise, which is fantastic for the artist; yet for an entrepreneur or an industrial tycoon it is worrying because we are not certain of what we will obtain from it. It only after several trials, that one knows what is being done and we can manage to achieve our objectives every time.”
PÁG. 50 PIERRE CHARPIN DESIGNER OF THE YEAR “I hope my objects promote happiness, but more than that I look for them to move people to reflect and that the pieces make us think about what they are expressing.” Interview Greta Arcila In his daily routine, Pierre Charpin is not used to read blogs nor look information up in the internet. He looks at very few magazines and he tries very hard to remain shielded against the excess information around him, especially in the creative world. How does he manage to choose the right message and put it in his work? No even him knows. “I have to think
about it for a little while. I do not try to include a lot of that information in my work: I believe I am very discerning and I take only what I need. I select only the data that I require in a subconscious manner as if I was walking down the street, that it is the moment when I like to observe the shapes, to look at things and discover how they work. In that case, I do consume a lot of data that I later—and only sometimes—use in my process. If something inspires me in a given street, I take it from there to come up with something new,” the French designer comments. He was born in Paris and after studying Belle Arts, he has dedicated himself to the development of furniture and object, above all else. Pierre was recognized as ‘Designer of the Year’ by the Maison & Objet 2017 design fair, which took place in Paris a few months ago. Part of his vision is maintaining a unique style in his designs that mix simplicity and curves with distinctive chromatic selections. Visibly surprised, he told us about this award: “At first, I was truly amazed as I really did not expect the news, which I humbly accepted because I precisely see it as an acknowledgement and not a tournament.” If something characterizes Pierre’s work it is that it he deeply involves himself in the process; with the details that may be of just one or a series of pieces. Why did you decide to follow this path and not follow the usual option of making mass production? “I do have industrial lines that are mass produced,” he counters. “For example, for the Alessi brand I made some lamps. Even then, it is true; I have an interest in working for the industry, but I also do it for galleries and exclusive manufacturers, with proposals that have an artisan nature. I’m not interested in making a differentiation between industrial-scale design and the one aimed at collectors or designed for galleries. I just try to understand the context I am working on and what said context allows me to come up with.” Even then, what is the difference between working with a gallery and collaborating with a specific industry? “The relationship with the gallery is built directly with the owner, person to person; while in the case of the industry it get more complicated as there are many meetings with various persons, be they brand directors, marketing teams and technicians; so, it turns out to be harder to discuss details as, on occasion, you cannot understand why they made a certain decision instead of another that you—as creator—believe to be more viable. I think this is the most important difference between these two actors. Nevertheless, in both processes one learns a lot,” the creator points out. One of the things I like about Pierre’s work is that his pieces always create and emotional response. Particularly, that he uses a bold color palette. “I believe I use wide variation in colors. Sometimes, I want to go for the deeper shades, at other times I choose to use for luminous colors. Everything goes in terms of what I want to express and it is also linked to my mood. In the end, I try to avoid having predefined colors, shapes or objects. May be I will only use black in a couple of years,” the artist confesses. For him, one of the most moving experience he has had was seen someone with the Carafe Eau de París (2004) bottle. “Many people just adore that object and that makes me happy because I have seen them using it time and again.”