Mindcraft 17: MBADV

Everyone knows that time is tricky but how does it actually affect our daily routines, working processes and ever-changing surroundings? For this year’s edition of Mindcraft – mounted by the Danish Arts Foundation during Milan Design Week: 4-9 April – guest curator and scenographer Henrik Vibskov opted to explore a site-specific condition: how different times-of-day cast different atmospheres at the San Simpliciano Cloister; how the droves of visitors that take the Italian city by storm during this hectic week might find pause in this ephemeral haven. The architecture of the locale allows an inner courtyard to cut off from the bustle of street life; providing an ample setting to showcase commissioned projects by 18 Danish craft-led talents: Tobias Møhl, Yuki Ferdinandsen, Eske Rex & Maria Mengel, Birk Marcus Hansen, Emil Krøyer & Mads Sætter-Lassen, Anne Dorthe Vester & Maria Bruun, Kasper Kjeldgaard, Lærke Valum, Marianne Eriksen Scott-Hansen, Isabel Berglund, Hanne G, Anders Ruhwald, Christina Schou Christensen, Pernille Pontoppidan Pedersen and Carl Emil Jacobsen. 

Though specialised in various mediums: graphics, ceramics, glass, textiles, silverware, wood and marble etc., all were prompted to work with the concept of time. Celebrated polyglot Vibskov allocated each creative with a specific period in the day to consider while developing their new works. Some explored the theme by looking at how material is sourced, how age-old techniques weight up to contemporary demands, and how function can be readdressed. TLmag had the opportunity to visit many of the exhibitors’ studios in Copenhagen earlier this month. Here’s the first in a series of profiles, ahead of Milan Design Week.  

Working with the tight span from 03:06:31–03:27:15 as inspiration, MBADV – Maria Bruun and Anne Dorthe Vester – developed Bricks of Time. Looking to translate the traditional extrusion process of producing this construction material, the artist-architect duo conceived a modular furniture application. Experimenting with age-old technology, Bruun and Vester designed stencil-like mouthpieces that achieve bespoke shapes and surface motifs; resembling seismographic lines on a roll of paper. Their treatment of time was determined in how long it took to produce each individual brick. For Mindcraft, the multifunctional monoliths are presented as shelving supports.

Represented by London-based Fumi Gallery and Copenhagen-based Etage Projects, MBADV transcends the disciplines of art, architecture and furniture design. Creating small scale objects, their explorations begin with a consideration of material without the constraints of function. Still, their pieces are projected as poetic deviations that suggest an ongoing inquiry into rationality and efficiency. MBADV’s experiments actively challenge preconceived notions of use by applying different materials to different archetypical forms and contexts.  

Mindcraft 17: 4-9 April
Chiostro Minore di San Simpliciano
Piazza Paolo VI 6
20121 Milan