“How do we truly celebrate Dutch design? By offering designers, artists, and businesses a unique platform during the world’s most valued design event, the Salone del Mobile in Milan.”
Nicole Uniquole
Building on the successes of the past six editions, Masterly now comes back bigger and better, boasting over 80 participants for a not to be missed event. With eager anticipation, final preparations are now in full swing for April 2023. Firmly established as a cornerstone of the Fuoris alone, this year marks a leap for theDutch pavilion in both scale and impact. As the event evolves, Dutch design is presented in a multitude of forms, from interactive and experimental design to industrial manufacturing and limited editions. With all its layers and dimensions, it is turning into a mini design fair, engaging a broad audience. The tried and tested formula proves as relevant as ever: curator Nicole Uniquole has carefully selected a beautifully balanced and broad mix of designers, businesses, colleges, and galleries. Together they represent Dutch design and craftsmanship in a multi sensory and synergetic symphony of presentations.The curator’s choice of the new headquarters of the Palazzo Giureconsulti is also a great catalyst forMasterly Match: the conscious connections that are being made during the Salone for future collaborations and partnerships.
Uniquole is introducing a few more novelties this year, including a new corporate identity, entrusted to the Dutch design studio Opera Concept & Design, and new collaborations with artists and designers on the international scene.
From the very first edition up to the present day, Masterly has had the support of the Embassy andConsulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Italy, enabling the Dutch pavilion to be the impulse for the reach and visibility of Dutch design at an international level, to the network of cultural and commercial relations it generates, and to the impact, Masterly has on the professional growth of its participants.
Before going into a detailed description of what you will find inside the building, let’s take a step back andimagine standing in front of the majestic facade of the Palazzo Giureconsulti. The palace, very dear to theMilanese, has characterized one of the liveliest and most visited places in the city centre, the Piazza deiMercanti, for almost five centuries. From its windows and the roof terrace, you can enjoy the view of theDuomo and its square, buzzing at any time of the day.
With respect for the history and tradition that the facade of this building represents to the Milanese, Nicole Uniquole imagined a floral arrangement together with Tom Postma. This Dutch artist, and set designer, is known for his collaborations with Tefaf, Art Basel, and the Fondazione Prada. The floral installation, including the contribution by the Italian floral design company Rattiflora, on the columns of the loggia, will be a sign of welcome at the entrance to the building. Like every year flowers are a gesture of gratitude fromMasterly to Milan and its people for the warm welcome we are met with. The entrance foyer will also featurean ad hoc installation, created with thousands of coloured orchids by Orchids Netherlands dotting the walls.
The 4000 square meters of the overall area of Palazzo Giureconsulti are divided across four floors. Amagnificent space of this magnitude asks for a methodical approach. Uniquole has curated the exhibitions of the participants for each floor or wing of the building to be dedicated to a homogenous selection of works.
The ground floor is dedicated to Technology projects, in which the beauty and perfection of the projects speak of advanced technologies and innovative materials. The ethereal luminous creations of Lucas Zito for example, in the installation designed for the hall of the grand staircase, printed in 3D with recycled plastic. The grand staircase shows photographer, artist, and storyteller Jonas Peterson’s magical work using AI techniques.
Also, in the majestic Sala delle Colonne, there are three Dutch companies that apply constant technological research to product development. VBH, is a leader in the segment of ultra-luxury yachts, which launches its invisible screens that can be integrated into any type of material at Masterly. Desso brings a collection of carpets designed by Patricia Urquiola. Vonn Jansen is a family company of wooden furniture, using artisanal techniques of the past such as inlay and veneering to create graphic motifs on contemporary furniture.
The long loggia that runs along the facade will host the presentations of two participants who have a long and consolidated bond with Masterly: FritsJurgens, a leader in the production of sophisticated and innovative hinges for doors, and the designer Carina Riezebos with the brand Blok Plaatmateriaal. For this edition, Riezebos has a very special project in store, developed together with the designer MaartenSpruyt. A succession of monumental arches made of laminated panels, studied to harmonize with the loggia, will create a social space with a reference to the period in which, centuries ago, Palazzo Giureconsulti was a place for trade.
Before heading to the upper floors, it is worth visiting the Exhibition Hall in the souterrain. Here in its quiet atmosphere, you will find works with a more purely craft flavour such as the sound amplifiers, real ceramic sculptures designed and created by Pierluigi Pompei, and the colourful handmade carpets, by Marcel VanDoorn for the Fuli brand.
On the first floor, there are two thematic areas. One is dedicated to Collectible Design, i.e. pieces between art and design, in one-of-a-kind pieces, or in limited series. The other, in the large Sala Donzelli in the rightwing of the building, is dedicated to a choral presentation on the future of living. Among the exhibitors in the rooms dedicated to the first theme, we find familiar names that are appreciated by the Masterly public such as Workingbert (home textiles), Royal Delft (ceramics), the Sodalime collective (objects in dichroic glass), REM Atelier (furniture related to sensory perception) and Karel Bodegom.
Celebrating their first time at Masterly includes Sebastiaan Brajkovic, the Galleria Spazio Nobile with “A Forest of Collision and Raku” works by Kiki van Eijk & Joost van Bleiswijk, furniture designer and entrepreneur Nancy Torreele, and ØDE Design’s collection of furniture inspired by Japan.
Under the title "Vision on Future Housing & Living", an installation is staged in Sala Donzelli where Uniquoleis bringing together distinct dimensions of the Dutch panorama, united by the common desire to overcome traditional production logic and ultimately, lifestyles that are no longer sustainable.
Designer Petra Blaisse, with her studio Inside Outside, developed a landscape project for the area around the new bridge by Renzo Piano in Genoa. It inspired the large carpet created by the Van Besouw brand,where patterns, textures, and colours, intertwining, give life to an abstract landscape.
Another happy match was made between the Philips MyCreation brand which produces lighting fixtures in recycled materials and the textile designer Aleksandra Gaca. The motifs of her sophisticated three-dimensional fabrics inspired the 3d texture of the lamps created specifically for Masterly.
The two rooms on the top floor welcome two immersive installations created to attract attention to the projects on display, but also to involve and inspire the visitor. Five young students who graduated this year from the Amsterdam and Rotterdam branches of the Wood &Furniture College (HMC) will demonstrate with their work that they have really learned the trade. The institute has participated in Masterly since its first edition, providing its young talents with the unique opportunity to make themselves known to the public and the international press. Over the years, the event has also been an opportunity for the school to undertake new collaborations with the participating companies, as evidenced by this year's set-up created in partnership with Blok Plaatmateriaal.
MONDiLAB returns to Masterly with an installation where five Dutch designers interpret their 'next level textiles’. They consist of high-quality printed textiles with beautiful textures and are the result of the urge to experiment and innovate in combination with extensive expertise in the craft.
The third protagonist of the second floor is Fatboy brand; the company known for its house and garden furniture, besides its own design team, works with designers who share their vision. For example, the Dutch design duo Kranen/Gille, and the designer Erik Stehmann, whose new products for the brand will be presented at Masterly.
At the end of the visit, your eyes, even if already filled with beauty, can only remain wide open to gaze upon the incomparable view of the Duomo, offered from the terrace on the top floor. A place of contemplation, calm, and refreshment set up by Fatboy outdoor furniture.
The Masterly program of events starts Monday afternoon, 17th of April, with the usual Press Preview, open to the press and media but also to curators, design galleries, and institutions. Like every year at Masterly, Wednesday morning is dedicated to the Architects' Breakfast. This invitation-only event annually hosts a leading personality from the world of design for a special lecture. The keynote speaker of the 2023 edition is the Dutch designer Petra Blaisse (Inside Outside) with a theme particularly dear to the Italian public. Following the dramatic collapse of the Morandi bridge in Genoa, the project to redesign the area is underway, under the direction of Stefano Boeri and Metrogramma. Renzo Piano designed the new bridge and Petra Blaisse will illustrate the landscape intervention that she designed around the new infrastructure.
Wednesday will also be the day of another interesting appointment: Spazio Nobile's Artist Talk with the artists Kiki van Eijk & Joost van Bleiswijk protagonists of the exhibition “A Forest of Collision and Raku”, in dialogue with Lise Corier founder of the Belgian gallery and publisher of TL mag. The meeting, introduced by the curator Nicole Uniquole, is open to the public subject to availability.
Finally, there is the traditional flower tribute ceremony, scheduled for Sunday 23rd at 2 pm. Nicole together with Orchids Netherlands will donate the splendid flowers that will embellish Palazzo Giureconsulti during the design week to the Milanese, who come in large numbers every year.
ALEKSANDRA GACA/ APTUM/ ARCADE MURANO/ ARIAN BREKVELD/ ARPA/ BIOFOLD/ BLOKPLAATMATERIAAL/ BOGAERTS FURNITURE & LIGHTING/ BOUKE DE VRIES/ BRUNS/ CARINARIEZEBOS/ CHRIS KOENS/ COMPANY NEW HEROES/ DESSO/ DOFACTORY | ACCESSFACTORY/DUTCH DESIGN FOUNDATION/ DUTCH ORIGINALS/ ERIK STEHMAN/ FATBOY/ FRANCINE BROOS/FRITSJURGENS/ FULI/ HENK SCHIFFMACHER/ HERMÈS/ HMC/ HUISVEENDAM/ INSIDE OUTSIDE/INSPIRAL FOUNDATION/ IRENE VAN OPHOVEN/ IVAR BAJ/ J. VAN DE PLAS/ JERKE SIJBRANDIJ/JONAS PETERSON/ JOOST VAN BLEISWIJK/ JORIS KUIPERS/ KAREL BODEGOM/ KEES MARCELIS/KIKI VAN EIJK/ KRANEN/GILLE/ LUCAS ZITO/ LUUK TOPPER/ MAARTEN SPRUYT/ MARCEL VANDOORN/ MARCEL WANDERS/ MONDILAB/ MOOOI/ NANCY FAAS/ NANCY TORREELE/ NATUREBUILDING KIT/ ØDE DESIGN/ ONTWERPDUO/ ONTWERPSTUDIO DUNC/ ORCHIDS NETHERLANDS/PATRICIA URQUIOLA/ PAUL&ALBERT/ PETRA BLAISSE/ PHILIPS MYCREATION/ PIERLUIGI POMPEI/PRO SUBER®/ RAMON MIDDELKOOP/ RDAI/ REM ATELIER/ RICHARD HUTTEN/ ROBERT VANEMBRICQS/ ROYAL DELFT/ SEBASTIAAN BRAJKOVIC/ SIGNIFY/ SODALIME/ SPAZIO NOBILE/ STUDIOSAMIRA BOON/ STUDIO VOCUM/ TARKETT/ THOMAS EURLINGS/ TIES DE VOS/ TJEERD VEENHOVEN/TOBIAS MOERENHOUT/ TOM POSTMA DESIGN/ VAN BERGE HENEGOUWEN/ VAN BESOUW/ VONNJANSEN/ W.H. GISPEN/ WARD VISSERS/ WIM RIETVELD/ WOOD & FURNITURE COLLEGE/WORKINGBERT
PRACTICAL INFO Palazzo Giureconsulti, Piazza dei Mercanti 2, Milano
PRESS PREVIEW, Monday 17th April, 3 PM - 7 PM
COCKTAIL, (upon invitation) Tuesday 18th, 6.30 PM - 9 PM
ARCHITECTS’ BREAKFAST, (upon invitation) Wednesday, 19th April, 9.30 AM
FLOWERS HAND-OUT, Sunday, 23rd April, 2 PM
Tuesday 18th April, 11 AM - 4.30 PM
From Wednesday 19th to Saturday 22nd, 11 AM - 8 PM
Sunday 23 April, 11 AM - 3 PM
Curator and Art Director Nicole Uniquole, nicole@uniquole.nl
Organization Uniquole, info@uniquole.nl
Press Office & Communication Giuseppina Flor International Communication & PR press@masterly.nu; +39 339 2216133