Polish furniture companies have been producing furniture for a number of recognised International labels for some time. This is the first opportunity for Polish designers to present their own brands, their own signature designs and projects to the world. The project maps out the creative directions taken up by Polish design companies and the way socio-political change has shaped a very particular aesthetic. These designers represent not only an intriguing movement in global design, they uphold and develop the nation's traditions of Arts and Crafts, as well as the solid Modernist movement of the '50s and '60s.
The theme of this year's edition of Young Creative Poland is In Production, presenting four emerging interior design companies in the heart of the world's furnishings market - Milan's Salone del Mobile. The convention is the largest furnishings exhibition in the world, attracting 270,000 visitors from 150 countries around the world. Young Creative Poland joins the exhibitors for the second time with the support of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
The first edition of the showcase was presented at last year's Salone del Mobile, as well as part of the London Design Festival (within the framework of the POLSKA! YEAR project). This year it presents young designers collaborating with four manufacturing companies - Iker, Noti, Vox and Zieta Prozessdesign - this time presenting their projects on an independent platform. The showcase is curated by Miśka Miller-Lovegrove and Anna Pietrzyk-Simone of the Lovegrove Studio.
Featured designers at Salon del Mobile 2011: Kompott, Oskar Zięta, Tomasz Rygalik, Renata Kalarus, Piotr Kuchciński, WertelOberfell Platform and Marta Krupińska.
The Salone del Mobile also hosts Polish product designers as part of the Unpolished 6 series at Ventura Lambrate 2011. Curated by Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka and Paweł Grobelny, experts in Polish and international design, the Unpolished showcase enjoys its sixth consecutive edition. After its unveiling in Brussels in 2009 at the Design September Festival, it has traveled around Europe for 2 years, featuring a revolving roster of Poland's greatest design talents.
According to curator Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka says that Polish achievements in design are perceived as "new, fresh and interesting by both professionals and the general public" against a global backdrop.
We have learnt that Polish contemporary design is worth presenting and interesting for sophisticated European public. Each edition of the exhibition is different and updated - each time new designs are created, new designers appear, but the Milan edition is unique - it presents what is best and most representative in Polish design.
While choosing works and designers, we were looking for the most characteristic elements of Polish design, features that distinguish us from other designers. When preparing for such exhibitions, we always have to answer the question: what do we want to prove exactly? How are Polish designs similar to those of other designers and how are they different?
The majority of the designers presenting their works at the exhibition belong to the 30-something generation. They all have been educated to a high level, not only in design, but in the production and promotion of their work. ell educated, they not only design but also produce and promote their own work. With limited access to modern materials and technology, natural resources such as wood, OSB, MDF, felt and recycled materials provide a platform for creating inexpensive, imaginative and eco-friendly products. These designers often work on their own or in tandem with local craftsmen, producing limited series. Many are inspired by local folk traditions, marrying it with symbols of contemporary culture.
The resulting objects experiment with form, function and scale, often taking an ironic approach to classical notions of design. The 12 designers (or design teams) taking part in Unpolished 6 - Young Design from Poland are: Agnieszka Bar, AZE design (Anna Kotowicz-Puszkarewicz + Artur Puszkarewicz), Beton (Marta Rowińska + Lech Rowiński), Agnieszka Czop i Joanna Rusin, Gogo (Maria Makowska + Piotr Stolarski), Kosmos Project (Ewa Bochen + Maciej Jelski), Bogdan Kosak, Malafor (Agata Kulik-Pomorska + Paweł Pomorski), Karina Marusińska, Poor Design (Bartosz Mucha), Monika Patuszyńska, Magdalena Trzcionka.
Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka is affiliated with a number of cultural institutions in Poland and abroad. She has been the art director and curator of the Łódź Design Festival, as well as previous editions of the Unpolished series and other design-oriented exhibitions. In 2000 she launched the Polish edition of Elle Decoration and was its editor-in-chief until 2007. She is a graduate of the Painting Department at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk.
Paweł Grobelny is a designer and curator of design exhibitions, graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań and recipient of a scholarship to the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts de Paris, École Nationale des Beaux-arts de Lyon and the Le Pont Neuf foundation in Paris. He is the winner of many design competitions, including the LVMH Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy for Young Creators 2005/2006, Parckdesign 2008, Prodeco 2006 - Young Designer, Prodeco 2008, Machina Design Award 2009 and a recipient of an honourable mention in the New Subjectivity in Design competition organised by the Zachęta National Gallery in Warsaw and the British Council. In 2009 he was nominated for the 100 Young Creative Talents during the UE year of creativity and innovation. He has designed public space projects in various European and Asian cities.
For more information on Young Creative Poland, see: www.youngcreativepoland.com
For more information on Unpolished, see: www.unpolished.pl
Young Creative Poland partners: Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Economy Ministry, Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Department for the Promotion of Trade and Investment at the Polish Embassy in Rome.
Unpolished 6 partners: Regional Museum in Stalowa Wola in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Rome and the Adam Mickiewicz InstituteThe Salone del Mobile trade show runs between 9:30-18:00 between April 12-17, 2011.
International Salone del Mobile Fiera Milano
Rho Design/Modern Section
Hall 6 - Ground Floor - Stand F34, Milan, Italy
www.cosmit.it
Source: press information