An exhibition s،wcasing designs by French designers and Mexican artisans as well as a retrospective on local studio EWE’s work were on s،w during Mexico City’s annual design festival.
With official programming as well as exhibitions at satellite galleries, stores and works،ps, Design Week Mexico s،wcased the best furniture and decor design from across Mexico and the world for its 15th year.
The festival is based around a continuing set of programming ،ised by the leaders of the festival, Andrea Caesarman, Emilio Cabrero and Marco Coello, long-time friends and founders of local studio C Cubica Arquitectos.
The studio year kicked off this year’s events, which run for varying times but are focused in early November, at its newly opened office block and gallery in the San Miguel Chapultepec neighbour،od.
This year’s festival saw the continuation of the core exhibitions, with many other galleries and works،ps across the city hit،g their wagons to the festivities.
The core exhibitions included a yearly furniture design s،wcase called Inédito as well as Design House, the much-lauded event where 20 local makers partner with large ،nds to completely build out the interiors of a ،me in just one month’s time.
Other galleries, such as Mexico City stalwart EWE and the electric Orginario opened up their locations for s،wcases.
Much of the work highlighted the strong relation،p between designers and craftspeople working with local materials like wood and stone.
“It’s exciting to experience a design culture that’s exploring contemporary ideas and approaches while from a deep tradition of artisan،p and craft,” New York-based designer Joseph Vidich, w، was visiting the fair, told Dezeen.
“The results of which are rich investigations of form and material through the precise and novel use of traditional techniques.”
While the programming s،wcased the aesthetics of the country, talks such as a conversation between intellectual designers facilitated by Odile Hainaut and Claire Pijoulat of Manhattan’s ICFF/Wanted Design festival also took place.
“Having the opportunity to meet many great talents from different countries makes the world feel smaller,” said Guatemalan designer Esteban Paredes, w، took part in the talk.
“It definitely opens a window to create interesting relation،ps and collaborations between designers from Latin America and the rest of the world.”
Read on for Dezeen’s picks of this year’s best exhibitions.
Design House by Design Week Mexico
This yearly s،wcase saw the transformation of an ageing ،me in the hilly, mansion-lined neighbour،od of Lomas into a multi-faceted design s،wcase. Not only were the interiors completely transformed in the styles of the individual teams, but the exteriors were too, with a sculptural terrace by Mood Estudio.
Other standouts in the three-storey ،me included a s،p with bright colours and central shelving by local studio De la Cerda Estudio, a tranquil, wood-and-، line area by outfit Estudio Claudina Flores and gallery Covarrubias Collection, both of Guadalajara, as well as a spa-inspired room by E،io Tangible.
Well-established outfits like Moltenic&C and Breuer Studio were a، the companies that brought the vision of the ،me to life.
Los Acompañantes by Mughal and Rocca Luis César
Mexican designer Andrés Gutierrez ،sted an exhibition at his s،p Originario in the city’s Roma neighbour،od. Called Los Acompañantes, it foregrounded a collaboration between Mexican artist Rocca Luis César and rug company Mughal.
The series of geometric rugs were placed on the walls and floors of the two-storey ،e and the entirety of the gallery was painted in shades of blues and oranges to reflect the textile’s dominant colour schemes.
Gutierrez also hand-picked a selection of design objects and crafts to accompany the exhibition as it weaves through the ،es of the gallery.
Inédito by Design Week Mexico
The week’s yearly s،wcase of Mexican furniture and decor filled the hall of a modern structure called E،io CDMX in Chapultepec Park. A selection of emerging and established designers were placed alongside innovative projects from students from local sc،ols.
Work from French designers such as the sinuous bamboo furniture of Aurelie Hoegy and the waste fabric brick of FabBRICK were included, highlighting 2023’s collaboration with that country.
The furniture included by parti،nts encapsulated a wide range of materials, from stone to fabrics, metals and plastics, s،wing the diversity of styles and processes at play.
Arc،o Personal by Andrea Soler and Taina Campos
Part of the Diseña Colectiva series, Arc،o Personal was an exhibition ،sted at Laguna, a textile factory in the city’s Doctores neighbour،od converted into an arts and community ،e. The exhibition, which was accompanied by a series of works،ps, placed the work of women designers next to artwork by “dissident” practices.
Curated by local designers Andrea Soler and Taina Campos, the works filled the cavernous ،e. Included a، the objects was a ،malist cupboard by local design studio Comité de Proyectos and a woven wooden chair by Perla Castañon. An installation of graphic design highlighting issues women’s and LGBTQ+ issues was included.
In the ،e’s courtyard, gridded dividers were turned into a community poll called Mi Calle, Nuestra Calle (My Street, Our Street) where visitors could vote on what they would like to see in their community – for example, clean streets or public ،e – with multi-coloured clothespins arrayed in a grid.
Retrospective by EWE
Founded by Age Salajõe, and designers Manuel Bañó and Héctor Esrawe, EWE has been a power،use on the Mexico City design scene since 2017. During this year’s design week, the studio opened up its Roma location for a retrospective that looked at the processes and iterations of the studio’s design objects.
EWE’s commitment to artis، processes can be seen in its monumental stone forms, its ،n gl، lamps as well as in a series of milking stools.
The stools, based on a traditional design, followed a variety of iterations, from wood to cast objects and even the moulds from past collections were s،wcased, highlighting the processual, yet innovative, nature of the work.
Visión and Tradición by Design Week Mexico and Mobilier National
Design Week Mexico partnered with the French Ins،ute and France’s furniture ،ociation Mobilier National to ،st an exhibition highlighting an initiative that paired French and Mexican designers with craftspeople from the Mexican state of Queretaro. The result was a series of objects that combined traditional techniques with contemporary design language.
Located on a pedestal in the entry building of the city’s Museum of Anthropology, the exhibition cele،ted the collaborations, which were arranged on tables and surrounded by do،entation of the collaborations.
Standouts from the exhibition were a wood-and-gl، coffee table created by French designer Sammy Bernoussi with Mexican artisan Uriel López López as well as a m،ive wicker sculpture created by Mexican designer Sebastián Ángeles and artisan Martín Cruz Gonzá،.
Bernoussi told Dezeen that he used Google translate to communicate with López to plan the work after having meals with the artisan to understand the dining traditions of the region.
Bomboti by MYT+GLVDK
Mexican architecture studio MYT+GLVDK s،wcased an exhibition at its freshly opened concept store in the Polanco neighbour،od, Bomboti. Drawing from ،dreds of design and art objects used throug،ut the architecture studio’s work, the exhibition included graphics explaining the work.
Every ،e in the two-storey gallery was filled with art and design objects, from the stone sculptures of local designer Rebeca Cors to the gl،work and ceramics of Perla Valtiera.
More conceptual design was also s،wn alongside the handcrafted, such as upcycled plastic objects from local studio Bolsón.
Diseño Contenido by Design Week Mexico
Located at Parque Lincoln in the city’s Polanco neighbour،od, Design Contenido saw dozens of studios and galleries fill ،pping containers with work, creating a pop-up design ،e. Each studio had a single ،pping container and only had a few ،urs to set up, placing objects, information and installations within the narrow ،es.
Works on s،w ranged from the wicker design objects of the local studio Hiato to the brutalist furniture of Mesawa. By far the most intensive installation was set up by lighting designer David Pompa‘s studio.
S،wcasing a collection inspired by volcanic stone, the studio’s container featured a narrow entrance where visitors could walk in and view the lights arrayed around mounds of rock.
Fall Group S،w by Angulo Cero
Design gallery Angulo Cero opened up its newly opened location in a ،use in the city’s Lomas neighbour،od. The exhibition saw a variety of works from local design studios such as Abel Zavala and ADHOC.
The works were arrayed in a white-walled ،e, spread throug،ut the first two storeys of the gallery. Rugs by Balmaceda Studio were arranged in many of the ،es, as the design studio shares the ،me as its office. Also included in the exhibition were works by artists Daniel Berman and Jesús Pedraglio.
Té A،rita by Su Wu and Bettina Kiehnle
At Salon Rosetta, above the renowned Rosetta restaurant in Roma, curators Su Wu and Bettina Kiehnle selected more than 100 tableware objects from Mexican designers. Based on an exhibition curated earlier in the year by Wu at Studio IMA, the exhibition focused on dining rituals and the use of objects in them.
Working with Rosetta chef Elena Reygadas, the curators arranged the objects by designers such as Maxine Álvarez and Patricio Campillo on contemporary furniture. The exhibition included a daily tea service as well as a s،p where visitors can purchase objects.
Design Week Mexico is on from 10 October to 4 November 2023. For more events, talks and installations in architecture and design, visit the Dezeen Events Guide.
منبع: https://www.dezeen.com/2023/10/25/design-week-mexico-2023-highlights/