At Kartell, design projects are based on craftsmanship but always involve innovative industrial processes often pushed to the limits. The new Smatrik collection by designer/artist Tokujin Yoshioka does just that by exploring the possibilities of Kartell’s sophisticated production technology to create a chair that is light and strong and highly decorative.
During Milan Design Week in 2019, Kartell celebrated its 70th birthday with 'The Art Side of Kartell', an exhibition that unfolded inside the famous Appartamento dei Principi in Milan’s Palazzo Reale showcasing past and present designs. Through stories of design collaboration, research, innovation, art, and revolutionary processes of technology, the exhibition explored the brands history including its post-WWII radical moment when Italian designers like Joe Colombo, Anna Castelli Ferrieri and Gaetano Pesce were reimagining furniture and materials at a time when the world was going through huge social change. It is this approach to research and collaboration that continues to shape Kartell today.
Designer Tokujin Yoshioka worked closely with Kartell’s research and development team to develop the complex mould required for the Smatrik collection. Images and film footage c/o Kartell.
“I drew inspiration from 1950s chairs that were made from steel wire… rather than focusing on their exterior look, I chose to create a design that resembled the structure as much as possible using Kartell’s innovative injection moulding technology. The two layers of acrylic resin create a three-dimensional structure in a harmonious blend of shapes and materials that are essential and timeless.”
Tokujin Yoshioka
Kartell has always been open to collaborations in order to achieve a variety of production solutions by investing in technological innovation and materials that allow it to create increasingly efficient, high-performance products. Joining the ‘ContamiNation’ collection described by Kartell as closely linked to the concepts of “uniqueness" and “identity”, the Smatrik combines Yoshioka’s experimental ideas with Kartell’s sophisticated production technology. At Kartell design projects are based on craftsmanship but always involve innovative industrial processes. Developing the Smatrik required a complex mould for the delicate seat with its overlapping layers of polycarbonate. Here, Yoshioka’s design reduces the seat to an essential structure which is light and strong and highly decorative.
“Kartell invests to create products that perfectly combine technological research, originality, attention to detail and industrial production, which are determining factors both today and in the future… For the first time, Kartell has experimented with polycarbonate by applying it to such a complex mould, thereby increasing the potential for production and creativity.”
Claudio Luti, President, Kartell
By challenging Kartell’s production team to develop a sophisticated new process, Smatrik continues the legacy of creative and technological evolution described by Kartell’s president, Claudio Luti, as part of kartell’s DNA.
The Smatrik collection of chairs includes the Matrix Rocking chair with a timber or metal base, and a series of high stools that were launched during Milan Design Week.
Kartell is exclusively available in South East Asia from Space – Australia – and Space – Asia.
