New Spring
Milano Design Week 2017
COS is pleased to reveal New Spring, an installation by London-based Studio Swine, now open during Salone del Mobile 2017.
For this year’s edition of the design week, COS has partnered with Studio Swine, an artistic collaboration between Japanese architect Azusa Murakami and British artist Alexander Groves. The duo has created an immersive, multi-sensory experience entitled New Spring, which fills decommissioned former theatre, Cinema Arti, in central Milan.
The installation, which is open to the public for the duration of the week, centres around a focal sculpture reaching six metres in height and constructed nearly entirely from recycled aluminium. The sculpture emits mist-filled blossoms that burst on contact with skin but that survive when met with textured fabrics, allowing visitors the chance to interact with the installation.
The duo looked to the setting for inspiration, drawing from Milan and its significance in art and design history.
“We were immediately drawn to the Murano chandeliers housed in private Milanese palazzos and, by contrast, the tradition of modernist Italian design – these helped inform the central structure of New Spring. With a desire to create a communal experience, another key reference for us became Italy’s public fountains, one of the country’s greatest luxuries,” relayed Studio Swine.
Taking in the physical surrounds, Studio Swine set out to create a cinematic mood within the installation, paying homage to the decommissioned cinema in which the installation resides and drawing upon Kurosawa’s blossom scene in Seven Samurai (1954) and the candelabra scene in Fellini’s Casanova (1976).
Studio Swine’s approach to New Spring evolved from mid-century cinema to modernist design, taking cues from Italian lighting; spherical bulbs and sweeping arched lamps inspired form and function, while the dark environment of the cinema’s interior allowed for a purposeful contrast.
“We have been inspired by the thoughtfulness of Studio Swine’s work for some time now and are so thrilled to see New Spring coming to life. I hope their idea for this year’s installation will capture the imagination of those who visit. It is a joy for us to invite such talented creatives to collaborate and ultimately for us to engage with the creative community we draw inspiration from so regularly at COS,” said Karin Gustafsson, Creative Director of COS.
Gustafsson continued, “we are delighted to celebrate our 10 year anniversary and sixth consecutive year in Milan during Salone with our friends from the art and design worlds”.
On Salone del Mobile as a platform, Studio Swine said “this week in Milan is the most important stage in the world to showcase innovation and creativity. The COS installation and its context here during Salone celebrates and signifies the constant march of progress and we are honoured to have a voice this edition.”
