The Magic of Nendo

The Japanese designer occupies one of Brera’s most magical spaces, the Chiostri di San Simpliciano, staging a comic story starring chairs. #MDW2016

Installations at the Chiostri di San Cimpliciano never disappoint because they can play with the stunning setting offered by this fascinating place, a haven of tranquillity and history in the bustling Brera district.

New York’s Friedman Benda gallery has made a mission out of representing designers who create interesting artworks. It engaged Nendo for what proved to be a performance in chair form based on the structure and concept of manga comics, a 2D and very abstract form of expression composed of a number of lines. Profoundly rooted in the Japanese culture – they can be linked to Ukiyo-e prints – and prints developed in the Edo period (AD 1603-1868) – these comics are of a symbolic nature, adapted here to just one furniture type. Fifty chairs on a white platform that highlighted their mirror finish propose a sequence of movements arranged in a grid pattern.

“Each one evokes a sense of history and each one has a Manga design feature”, says Nendo. Sometimes, a comic speech bubble or an effect line is added to the basic structure to visualise a sound or action, or emotional manga symbols conveying perspiration or tears, lending a sense of history and character to the chair.

The concept dominated the development of the models, which is why it was decided to avoid different colours and thicknesses and to stick to a minimal material expression.