Announcing 'Common Senses' our 2018 London Design Festival exhibition

Viaduct founder James Mair has selected five internationally renowned designers to curate Common Senses. The designers are Ilse Crawford, academic, designer and creative director of Studioilse; Farah Ebrahimi, Art Director of the innovative German furniture company e15; Nani Marquina, textile designer and creative director of the eponymous hand-crafted rug company Nanimarquina; Nina Maso, co-founder of the Catalan lighting and furniture company Santa & Cole; and artist Fien Muller, the co-partner of Belgian furniture project Muller Van Severen. 

The Common Senses exhibition will transform Viaduct's showroom into a series of installations in which each designer will explore the building blocks of their design processes revealing their take on the functional, cultural and sociological significance of life’s everyday objects. Common Senses will run for the duration of LDF. 

Ilse Crawford, known for her sensual and responsive interior design projects, will curate a series of vignettes in conjunction with graduates of Design Academy Eindhoven, where she is Head of the Department of Man and Wellbeing. The investigative study of materials range from innovative uses of metal waste and nettle fibres, to Lino leather and the recycling of construction materials for a more circular world. According to Ilse Crawford “Materials matter. We connect to our environment through materials and our values are literally embodied in the way that they are produced designed, used and disposed of.”  

Iranian designer Farah Ebrahimi will reflect on place, identity and heritage using a traditional Persian carpet to demarcate the space as well as representing the physical embodiment of e15’s principals of production: ‘high grade materials and innovative, handcrafted production methods’. 

Ebrahimi’s Common Senses installation is a simple living room scene, where the furniture reflects “a metaphoric dialogue of personal items that focus on celebrating creativity and quality over the blunt display of wealth and status.” Sofa Shiraz is covered in grey flannel and is accompanied by various side tables in pure materials such as Enoki Migoto in oiled marble, Habibi in polished brass, Backenzahn in European walnut and Calvert Chess in neon red plywood by e15. These are juxtaposed with a pair of Monobloc chairs and some favourite books. “The Monobloc is present in almost all cultures and encompasses industrial design and modern manufacturing technique. It is honest, and serves its purpose without pretention, and I like that.”

Artist Fien Muller, of design duo Muller van Severen, is known for creating pieces defined by their texture, material and wit. For Common Senses, Muller presents a series of mini installations that “combine materials, colours and samples that grow together in a spontaneous way in our studio or in our home. I want to give them attention because they are so important in making our work”. These “one minute worlds” vanish as quickly as they are created and are unselfconscious in the making: “Someone has found something interesting and puts it on a cupboard. Another one puts something next to it, or on it…  After a while they become ‘small worlds’ in themselves that inspire me significantly.  They are dialogues between people that arise in silence and pop up almost as a sculpture… unexpected, unconsidered, pure and direct….. for the love of materials and colours.”

Santa & Cole have been exploring industrial design since 1985. They focus on scrutinising everyday objects to discover their best use and experience and are committed to creating products aimed at improving the quality of our homes, offices and privately owned public spaces (hotels and restaurants etc). Creative Director, Nina Maso believes that to “conceive light is to consider how we live and reflect our material culture: not accumulating but rather selecting; not delighting in quantity but rather in quality; not to show but rather to share.”

For Common Senses Maso presents the newest releases from the Santa & Cole catalogue, re-editions, family extension products and new finishes. “The lights are representative of timeless objects with a highly diverse range of origins and uses that share the same concept of design, reflecting a specific lifestyle. Lamps that embody comfort rather than impact, that interact with their surroundings, whether in the home or in communal areas, in the absence of sunlight.” Santa & Cole’s lighting is displayed among Nani Marquina’s exquisite rugs as their collections reflect a shared commitment to creating objects that refine the everyday.

Nani Marquina travels the world uncovering manual techniques, culture and craft heritage, applying this first-hand knowledge in the creation of rugs. The research into different tools, looms, and artisanal techniques allows the brand to constantly learn and grow, and nature is the main source of inspiration. The Shade flatweave rug collection is inspired by the magical moments in nature, “when colours melt and speak for themselves”. The Tres collection pays homage to weaving and the inter-crossing of natural fibres. Material is also a key ingredient: “wool, felt, and cotton generate changes in tone and irregularities in the weave, bringing the pattern to life”. The Herb collection focuses on highlighting the intrinsic benefits of the little-known hemp plant fibre: “this is a rug filled with vibrant life, the shine of Herb's hemp will evolve over time.”

Common Senses brings together an international roster of distinguished designers who a share common sense of inquisitiveness, a desire to pare down the design process and seek new ways to create and innovate with consciousness and principle.

Exhibition runs 13th - 22nd September here at the Viaduct showroom.

Private View 17:30 - 20:30 12th September 2018.

RSVP to our opening event, including a talk with Ilse Crawford, Nani Marquina, Farah Ebrahimi and Nina Maso led by Libby Sellers, author of 'Women Design' via eventbrite page.