Donna Corbin on Patricia Urquiola
An interview with PMA Curator, Donna Corbin on Patricia Urquiola and the making of Between Craft and Industry.
What was it about Patricia’s work that initially intrigued you and made you eager to organize this exhibition?
Although there were a few historically important women designers in the twentieth century, women like Eileen Gray and Florence Knoll Bassett who was honored by Collab in 2004, and many like Ray Eames who partnered with their often better-known husbands, industrial design is still a field that is largely dominated by men. This exhibition was thus an opportunity for me to take an intimate look at one of the twenty-first century’s most sought after and prolific women architect-designers, and to examine what might set her apart from her male counterparts.
What surprised you about this project?
In 2008, at my recommendation, the Museum acquired Patricia’s fantastic Antibodi chaise; she designed the chaise for Moroso in 2006, and it is still one of her most iconic works. What surprised me when I began to put together an exhibition list, which of course included the chaise, was how visually diverse her work is. You need only compare for example, the Antibodi chaise, with the rugs in the Mangas series, which were designed for the Spanish firm Gandia Blasco and woven in a traditional workshop in India, or the pieces from the Urkiola line she designed for the Danish company Georg Jensen in 2016.
Some of this might be explained by the fact that she has not restricted herself when it comes to what she designs or the medium she works in. But to a greater extent, the visual diversity of her products is a reflection of her approach to the design process.
A woman of incredible energy and creativity, she is a lifelong traveler both physically and metaphorically who is disinclined to repeat herself, and who finds inspiration in even the most mundane object—something she was encouraged to do by her mentor Achille Castiglioni, undoubtedly one of the most important designers of the twentieth century.In the process, Patricia reinterprets and rethinks the original source in such a way that the object becomes something that is at once familiar and new. In her pursuit of an emotional connection, the narrative at the heart of the object becomes more important than its style.
Can you briefly describe the exhibition and say what you are hoping the Museum’s visitors will take away from the exhibition?
Despite the fact that Patricia is at the helm of a very global enterprise and well known within the design community in this country, I don’t believe many of the Museum visitors will be familiar with her work, so it is exciting to be able to introduce it to our audience.
Patricia infuses these joyful and inviting spaces with surprising and bold juxtapositions of texture, color, and pattern, making them uniquely hers.
The installation approach is three-prong. The major focus of the installation will be the furniture, textiles, lighting and tableware she has designed since opening her studio in Milan in 2001. These will be accompanied by photographs of some of her interior and architecture projects, in particular the hotels she has completed since she received her first commission in 2006. Patricia infuses these joyful and inviting spaces with surprising and bold juxtapositions of texture, color, and pattern, making them uniquely hers. Her spaces exude a sense of comfort, a word Patricia loves, which has the effect of making you want to linger for a while.
And, lastly there will be a small section devoted to process—something Patricia has been hugely interested in since her early days as a designer and something that goes hand-in-hand with her passion for craftsmanship. One of the defining events in her life as a designer was the installation she did at the IMMCologne Fair in 2005 for which she asked manufacturers to send their industrially-produced furniture ‘half made’ so that she could finish the pieces in a hand-crafted way.Included in this section will be sketches made by the designer, several small furniture models, and photographs taken of her and others during the manufacturing process.
If you had to pick one object that you think encapsulates Patricia’s design philosophy what would that be?
I would have to say it would be the Chasen lamp she designed in 2007 for the Italian lighting manufacturer Flos. The hanging lamp is a reinterpretation or reuse of the shape and lightness of the traditional bamboo whisks used in the Japanese tea ceremony. As with many of Patricia’s projects, the initial creative gesture is followed by a period of intense experimentation with both material and process, a collaborative effort between designer and manufacturer that more often than not results in innovation. The Chasen lamp is made ofa thin sheet of steel that is cut using a process of chemical milling that gives the lamp the flexibility to expand and contract vertically. The lamp is unusually akinetic object that speaks to both function and narrative.
This article first appeared in the 2017 Collab Journal.