Crossing Borders and Practices: Dialogues of Doppia Firma 2019

For its fourth edition, Doppia Firma shines a spotlight on those who decide to pursue an artistic career whose exemplary, artisanal works often go under-appreciated and/or unnoticed. Nineteen international designers went beyond the constructed borders of their own country in search of extraordinary artisans; selecting creators from Belgium to Czech Republic to Germany, from the United Kingdom to Sweden to Portugal, from France to Austria to Italy, and from Switzerland to the Netherlands to Japan (the only non-European country in the selection). These bonds alone speak volumes on the inclusive and borderless attitude that this exhibition represents, and the over-encompassing communal language that design and craftsmanship share.

This year’s show will feature a wide variety of techniques and materials including glass, ceramic, paper, porcelain, marble, wood, silver and brass. The selected designers, which include Patricia Urquiola, Sam Baron and Vito Nesta, worked with master artisans like Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg, Bottega Ghianda and Risogama to create a range of unique objects that have never been exhibited before in Milan.

Each object on display is accompanied by photographs and videos — highlighting every step of the process to underline the contribution, the so-called “Double Signature” (Doppia Firma in Italian) of both its creators. The collaborative creations will be exhibited at Villa Mozart for the second year in a row. This is a special treat to visitors of the Milan Design Week as this 1930’s building in the heart of the city is usually not open for public viewing.

“Doppia Firma: A Dialogue Between Design and Artisanal Excellence” will be on view during Salone del Mobile from the 9th till the 14th of April 2019 and is a project conceived by the Cologni Foundation for the Métiers d’Art, developed with interiors magazine Living, and presented by The Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship.

Cover Image courtesy of Giampiero Bodino.