The Artek Helsinki x Bouroullec exhibition focuses on the French designer brothers’ delicate hand-drawn line: most of the furniture designed by the designer duo for Artek and Vitra, are like three-dimensionally rendered drawings. The Rope Chair, launched in 2020, will be in the spotlight of the exhibition.
More like a silhouette than a solid block, the Rope Chair is a line drawing translated into three dimensions, a simple artistic gesture rendered in space. The chair is a synthesis of contrasts: sophisticated engineering and creative expression, solid structure and flexible elements, stiff tubes and pliable rope. Made for marine use, the rope is at the heart of the chair’s unexpected comfort; a weight-bearing part of the construction, it allows the chair to adapt to those who use it. Where other chairs dictate a specific way of sitting, the Rope Chair invites creativity in posture, encouraging dynamic movement and changes in position. When the sitter rises, the chair’s frame bears the traces of the body it last supported, the imprint of a user who co-defines its shape.
The Rope Chair is available in all black with a black polyester rope and in light grey with natural flax rope.
A hook is a storage fundamental, a simple tool for hanging objects on the wall. Some wall hooks can also be ornaments, decorative details that add beauty where they are hung. The Tupla Wall Hook is just such a hook; its twin loops – Tupla means “double” in Finnish – are as lyrical as they are functional. Made of die-cast zinc, the hook has the air of a line drawing brought into three dimensions, a simple sketch, translated into space.
The Kaari collection by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec marks the first collaboration between the French designers and Artek. The collection includes two sizes of rectangular tables and a round table, a desk, a wall console, a little round wall shelf and a variety of larger shelving elements. Later on the collection got one more addition: a wall hook.
Kaari Table, rectangular
Kaari Table, round
Kaari Wall Shelf, round
Kaari Desk
Kaari Wall Console
Kaari Wall Hook
Kaari Wall Shelf
Kaari Wall Shelf with Desk
In Finnish, Rivi means “line,” an apt name for the textile pattern by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec that continues endlessly in both directions. Hand-drawn, with subtle details as precise as they are imperfect, Rivi is available in a variety of colours and cotton qualities, by the metre or in the form of charming accessories. The colour options are white/blue, blue/white, mustard/white and black/white.
Belleville is the name of the vibrant Paris neighbourhood where the designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec have their studio. Visual references for the Belleville Chair, designed in 2015 byt the Bouroullecs for Vitra, can be found in the classic French bistro furnishings and lively atmosphere of this Parisian quarter. The Belleville product family consists of a chair, an armchair and different sized tables. The hand drawn line is recognizable also in the Belleville series - the chair itself is a reminiscent of a calligraphic drawing.
The Vases Découpage each consist of a cast cylindrical vessel combined with a set of abstract slabs and bars made of clay, which can be attached to or placed inside the vase. All of the elements have a distinctly handcrafted appearance and exist in a variety of colours – and together they create poetic compositions that look different from every angle. The Bouroullecs designed the Vases Découpage for Vitra in 2020.
The exhibition also features drawings by Ronan Bouroullec. Bouroullec’s drawings are created intuitively: a technique based on surrealism allows images to emerge from the level of the subconscious mind. Vitra Design Museum has produced a series of posters based on Ronan Bouroullecs drawings. These posters are also available at the Artek Helsinki store.
Welcome to visit the exhibition on Keskuskatu!
Artek Helsinki
Keskuskatu 1 B
00100 Helsinki, Finland
tel. +358 10 617 3480
artekhelsinki@artek.fi
Mon-Sat 10:00 – 18:00
