The London & Warsaw based Jeglinska, the co-founder of the exhibition is a designer herself, and she has teamed up with Livia Lauber with whom she studied in Switzerland. Together they decided to create an exhibition that would comprise a sort of diary of their travels, inviting other up-and-coming designers from across Europe to create a contemporary cabinet of curiosities. They initiated the project to speak about their generation and what defines its thinking processes. Referencing the legendary guise of the collector and his cabinet, each work is presented as an exhibition within the exhibition at large. The works, each entirely distinct, personalised according to each designer's own vision are fitted within the wooden 'cabinet'. They were first unveiled in this form at the London Design Festival.
Jeglinska and Lauber then stated:
We hope that the cabinets provided the designers with an opportunity for introspection, stimulating them to reflect upon their own praxis and the driving elements behind their approaches. Interestingly, each 'wonder designer' (as we started to call them), zoomed in on the very essence of their process. They responded with very precise thoughts about what makes up their identity as designers, what constitutes their design DNA.
In the second installment of the project the designers decided to shift their focus to the working process itself. Some participants choose to zoom in on one particular detail of the process, while others address a larger picture. In the 2013 curatorial text, Jeglinska and Lauber reiterate:
We think it is important to speak about what shapes us as designers, and maybe pinpoint the profession’s changing aspects. (…) We rarely approach a project knowing all the components; it is always a learning process, a matter of trial, error and discovery. This way of thinking allows us to tackle so many different problems and yet respond with precise 'answers'. The projects on view, whether self-initiated or commissioned, began with a particular context and a set of constraints facing the designers. Thus, the client (even if he happens to be an imaginary one) plays a crucial role in forming and shaping the designer’s approach. The designers’ vision is confronted with the craftsman’s knowledge and skills. The result of this two-way dialogue and exchange of skills is a truly collaborative outcome.
The transatlantic edition of the project entitled Wonder Cabinets of Europe in America invites two new designers; Washington based Jonah Takagi and Matylda Krzykowski from Poland. Krzykowski was born in 1982 in South-Western Poland and emmigrated to Germany at the age of four. She is the co-founder of Depot Basel in Switzerland and currently lives and works in Holland.
Jeglinska's own project The Ash Series presents three tree-like objects in wood that function as lamps. She worked with Polish craftsmen, getting a glimpse of the tradition and process of carpentry and woodcutting. The end result is a collection of wooden sculptures that emanate the natural warmth of wood.
Other artists in the exhibition: Pauline Deltour (French designer, based in Paris), Oscar Diaz (Spanish designer, based in London), Kueng Caputo (Swiss designers, based in Zürich), Loris&Livia (Swiss designers, based in London), Philippe Malouin, (Canadian designer, based in London), Judith Seng, (German designer, based in Berlin), Harry Thaler (Italian designer, based in London).
The exhibition is accompanied by a newly designed wondercabinetsofeurope.eu website that kicks off live to coincide with the opening of the ICFF.
The Wonder Cabinets Of Europe in America takes place at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York between the 18th – 21st of May 2013, booth 3110 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
The Polish showcase is among 500 other displays from across the globe that are presented at North America’s premier showcase for contemporary design; the ICFF hosts representatives from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Haiti, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, South Korea, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, U.S., and the United Kingdom.
For more information about the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, see: http://icff.com
Editor: Paulina Schlosser, 14.05.2013
Source: Adam Mickiewicz Institute, http://www.wondercabinetsofeurope.eu, icff.com