By Jeanne Tan / 04-02-2010

Fairs for autonomous design are a fairly new development in the design world.

Stands or exhibitions at a furniture fair in the traditional sense mostly present new collections and designs from a single manufacturer or designer, aimed predominantly at a trade audience. On the other hand, the fair for autonomous design is not the domain of the design trade but of galleries and individual collectors. These fairs are also coupled with established art fairs, for example Art Basel and Design Miami/ Basel or in The Netherlands, it's Art Rotterdam and Object Rotterdam which is happening this week.

Galleries represent many designers, and at a fair, there's understandably a limited amount of square metres available to show the work. Often as a result, a diverse range of individual objects from different designers are exhibited at the stand, such that it feels too fragmented, becoming more like automonous objects trying to vie for attention. When individual objects are plucked out from a collection to be exhibited, the context is missing and the piece seems lost without the rest of its family.

Walking around the hall of Las Palmas, home of Object Rotterdam for four days between 4-7 February, there were many good pieces but few outstanding, with the most memorable designs coming from collections: in particular those made with natural materials, exquisite craftsmanship and which possessed a human sensitivity.

A highlight was Thomas Eyck's presentation featuring Christien Meindertsma and Aldo Bakker. What's exhibited here is an extensive collection made from a singular material by one or two designers. New to this show were silver versions of Aldo Bakker's ceramic tableware series, and wool pieces from Christien Meindertsma: the first production model of the giant knitted 'Aran rug' and 'Teselaar' poufs made from 500m of wound wool felt. This is the first time that Meindertsma's pieces have been made from Dutch wool, with the beige and dark grey being the original colours of the wool. Also on view was Meindertsma's 2009 'Flax' collection.

Aldo Bakker's work was also to be seen at newcomer Particles Gallery. Bakker's timber 'Stool' was debuted, a composition study in volume, surface and line. The wood is specifically selected for its grain which is accentuated by the intense varnish. 'Le Lac' and 'Side Table' originate from the 'Urushi series' which are finished in traditional Japanese Urushi lacquer. Over to Galerie Judy Straten, recent Design Adademy Graduate Marly Gommans presented the 'Dressed Wood' series which explored the idea of furniture that, like humans, can be dressed up. Fashion techniques are translated into furniture with pleated leather coverings that adorn a chaise longue and cabinet whose legs seems to be wearing leather trousers. Delicate leather handles accessorise the drawers while the whole collection comes with a set of matching pleated wool dresses. At Milan's I+I Gallery, Richard Hutten's Playing with Tradition carpet was extended into a new series.

Jewellery (well, more wearable objects) had a strong showing at the fair. Galerie Ra presented Tjep.'s 'Clockwork Love' series which like his pendant for Chi Ha Paura...?, is composed of overlapping imagery and references. This time, the heart and clockwork provide the starting point for the pendants which express themes such as fragility, passion and uncertainty. The new brooches of Jantje Fleischhut seen at Galerie Rob Koudijs juxtapose precious stones and metals with found everyday materials like plastic packaging or scrap wood, finished in high gloss epoxy. Three ceramic and earthenware dildos from Ted Noten could also be seen: one with a Delft blue vase, another attached to a gemstone ring and the last fitted with a stopper that could be removed to access gemstones hiding inside the dildo.

The pièce de résistance of the fair was the international launch of 'Total Table Design', a collaborative project involving two design studios, three manufacturers and two cultural institutions. Kiki van Eijk and Scholten & Baijings designed a holistic concept for a fine dining table setting which was entirely produced by Dutch companies. While Van Eijk utilised a warmer palette and antique-inspired forms in her collection entitled 'Table Palette', Scholten & Baijings signature use of bright colour and minimal, geometric lines could be seen in their 'Paper Table'. The companies involved were: Royal Leerdam Crystal (glassware), Koninklijke Van Kempen & Begeer (cutlery), Audax Textile Museum (table linen), Cor Unum (Kiki van Eijk crockery) and European Ceramic Workcentre (Scholten & Baijings crockery).

The singular nature of exhibiting and viewing artworks in a gallery context might work well for art, but does that necessarily mean it should translate well into design? And as design is a relative new comer to the art scene, perhaps design needs to find its own way to operate in this context.

Main image: Total Table Design, Scholten & Baijings
Image 1: Total Table Design, Kiki van Eijk
Images 2 & 3: Aldo Bakker, Silverware, t.e.
Image 4: Aldo Bakker, Stool, Particles
Image 5: Aldo Bakker, Side Table, Particles
Photography for Aldo Bakker: Erik and Petra Hesmerg
Image 6: Christien Meindertsma, Teselaar pouf, t.e.
Image 7: Richard Hutten, Playing with Tradition, I+I
Images 8 & 9: Marly Gommans, Dressed Wood, Galerie Judy Straten
Image 10 & 11: Jantje Fleischhut, Galerie Rob Koudijs
Image 12: Tjep., Clockwork Love, Galerie Ra,
Images 13 & 14: Ted Noten, Dildos, Galerie Rob Koudijs

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