Adorno's 'Crossovers' Collectible Design Journey

Crossover Group Shoot: (from left to right) Your Skin by Laura Noriega, Via Fucini 5 by Vito Nesta, Transparency Matters “Agatha” by Draga & Aurel, Sucession Mirror by Farg & Blanche, Bakers Lamp, Quilt Table, Belt Vase by Anna Kraitz, Luminous Shapes by Stine Mikkelsen & Untitled by Gurli Elbækgaard.

Italy Collection, Curated by Annalisa Rosso & Francesco Mainardi.

Sweden Collection, Curated by Paola Bjåringer.

Mexico Collection, Curated by Ana Elena Mallet & Pilar Obeso. Photography by Tommy Frost.

As part of the upcoming London Design Festival, design cooperative Adorno present ‘Crossovers’, an exhibition of dynamic works from a range of independent designers around the world. The exhibition celebrates the notion that designers and communities play a central role in maintaining and renewing a continued appreciation of design and crafts. The show highlights the unique traits and beauty of various countries and cultures, facilitating a cross-cultural dialogue that departs from design and evolves into societal issues.

Founded in Copenhagen in 2017 by design lovers/ tech entrepreneurs Kristian Snorre Andersen and Martin Clausen, Adorno is inspired by Nordic co-operatives within agriculture and fishing, where individuals prosper through cooperation. Setting out to build an international collaboration that empowers independent designers and the local communities they are part of, Adorno incorporates a digital design platform, an international legal department, and a global cost-efficient shipping solution. The shipping enables autonomous collaboration between curators and designers from local communities to promote and sell their work to a growing segment of international buyers.

For ‘Crossovers’, works submitted from each participating country are curated by different local design authorities, each collection distinct in reflecting the particular design style and aesthetic native to the given country. Viewed together, the collections build a reflective overview of the current state of design and craft cultures today.

According to Adorno, “these artists are vital in defining the individual scenes; developing a new design language while maintaining and reinterpreting historic traditions in a combination of old and new techniques.”

DENMARK: CURATED BY PHIL BREDAHL.

Gurli Elbækgaard.

Jonas Edvard.

Lea Nordstrøm.

Mette Schelde.

Stine Mikkelsen.

Tina Austen.

Troels Flensted & Ragna Mouritzen.

Highlights include designer Fredrik Bull and ceramicist Anette Krogstad’s collaboration ‘Kryptos’. The Norway-based duo combine their distinct sculptural techniques to create a series of rock-like, densely layered and glazed vessels. Hollow, they are intended to be used as storage for one’s most prized possessions. The interior surfaces contrast the outer, coasted with pastel colours, pearlescent sheens and gold.

A favourite from Salon Del Mobile, Draga & Aurel presented their tinted resin Transparency Matters collection, part of Italy’s ‘Milanese Interiors’ curated by Annalisa Rosso and Francesco Mainardi, as a reflection on the current condition of contemporary design in Italy. Explain Rosso and Mainardi, “The idea is to imagine the interiors, environments of a perfect, idealized, utopian Milanese living space – inhabited by collectors or by design enthusiasts.”

Other noteworthy works include those from the Sweden collection, all of which transcend stereotypical associations of natural materials and minimal aesthetics presented within light, agreeable palettes. Rather, pieces include designer Åsa Jungnelius’ wall-mounted candlestick holders, multi-coloured and made from blown glass, complete with fluorescent fake hair. Other candlestick interpretations include Färg & Blanche’s casted jesmonite lamp, originally made for “The Bakers House” exhibition in Emma Marga Blanche’s great-great grandfather’s 1889 Townhouse.

Keep scrolling to see the rest of our highlights from Crossover.