Furniture Design

Bringing contemporary Polish design into the spotlight, Nasza Polska (translating as ‘our Poland’) was an unparalleled touring-exhibition gathering up-and-coming talents, established studios and legendary masters – working in Poland and abroad. Curated by Pro Materia – Lise Coirier, assisted by Adrian Madlener –, in close collaboration with the biannual TL magazine (True Living of Art and Design), Paris Design Week and Design September Brussels, this comprehensive survey captured the driving forces behind this country’s rapidly evolving creative scene is organised thanks to the support of The Paris and Brussels Polish Institutes, cultural Warsaw-based platform Adam Mickiewicz Institute, celebrated design studio Zieta Prozessdesign – conceiving a special scenography with its ground-breaking 3+ Mecchano system –, top culinary publication USTA magazine, and highly talented fashion designer Ania Kuczyńska. Taking the opportunity both design events provided, Nasza Polska was held at La Rotonde Stalingrad during Paris Design Week (6 to 13 September 2014) and at La Nonciature during Design September Brussels (19 September to 5 October 2014) – showcasing a curated selection of furniture, playful accessories, ceramics, glassware, graphics and lighting design. A special focus will be put on the Nasz Collection – curated by Tomek and Gosia Rygalik – which debuted at Wanted Design during New York Design Week in May 2014. Combined with Pro Materia’s selection, this ultimate collaboration has given birth to “Nasza Polska” (‘our Poland’). Nasza Polska exhibition will present the latest work by Edgar Bąk, Agnieszka Bar, Marek Cecula (Modus Design and Ćmielów Design Studio), Stanislaw Czarnocki, ENDE (Natalia Gruszecka and Jakub Kwarciński), Paweł Grobelny, Maria Jeglinska, Ola Mirecka, Krzysztof Lukasik, Jan Lutyk, Bartek Mejor, Monika Patuszyńska, Chmara Rosinke, Bashko Trybek, To Do Studio (Kasia Jakubowska and Tomasz Orzechowski), Mateusz Wiewiórowski, VELT, Oskar Zieta, a selection from the New School of Form in Poznań and the Academy of Fine Arts and Design Wrocław / glass department. Echoing both Paris Design Week and Design September Brussels events, a bilingual special edition TLmag Polska will serve as both an exhibition catalogue but also stand-alone with further insight into each designer’s approach –compiling a series of designer portraits, studio features, process design stories to unveil the contemporary Polish design scene, with human-driven, local and international perspectives. In addition, the publication will include an exclusive historic overview – tracing Polish design back to its pre-World War II origins – with a special look at the Ćmielów porcelain factory, the National Museum of Warsaw’s design archive, Oskar Hansen’s summer house and his ‘open form’ theory and practice – as a way in which to contextualise today’s Polish industry and design-led craft.