Thick As A Brick

A mini-series of furnishings featuring bricks and books by Kuehn Malvezzi — invited by Maria Cristina Didero — highlights the need for a return to tradition and culture.

Bricks and books are the two core materials in a small three-part furnishing series (a shelf, counter and bench) by the Italian-German studio Kuehn Malvezzi, who were invited by Maria Cristina Didero to exhibit in the lobby of the Galleria Gió Marconi during the 2013 Salone del Mobile.

Brickolage — the name of the series — takes a step back to traditional building methods in a collection that falls midway between furnishing and architecture. Bricks produced by Danish firm Petersen Tegl form the structural base and starting point for a metaphorical look at culture, embodied in books supplied by Milanese publisher Mousse, which specialises in contemporary art books. The books, in turn, are also the modular element that completes the structure and makes it possible. Along with the bricks, they metaphorically mark a necessary return to solidity in times of economic crisis and uncertainty such as ours.

On top and above: Studio Kuehn Malvezzi, Brickolage, Galleria Gió Marconi, Fuorisalone 2013, Milan. Photos Giovanna Silva

“Against the backdrop of a design show that reflects furniture in the broadest sense at best, these elements are even thicker than the proverbial brick,” explain Kuehn Malvezzi. “Yet books and bricks might provide answers, both simple and elaborate to certain questions. In relation to the complex context of a well-known international showcase for new technology and trends like Milan Design Weeks, the choice of materials may seem out of place, but is a really pertinent return to solidity. The Giò Marconi exhibition is meant to encourage dialogue about how form defines culture”.

In times of crisis and uncertainty people go back to traditional materials as the starting point from which to conjure up new visions.

Studio Kuehn Malvezzi, Brickolage, Galleria Gió Marconi, Fuorisalone 2013, Milan. Photo Giovanna Silva

From 9 to 14 April 2013
Thick As A Brick
Galleria Gió Marconi
Via Tadino 15, Milan

Thick As A Brick

A mini-series of furnishings featuring bricks and books by Kuehn Malvezzi — invited by Maria Cristina Didero — highlights the need for a return to tradition and culture.

Sodales purus vel vero possimus temporibus venenatis

Sodales purus vel vero possimus temporibus venenatis