One of the most prominent worldwide designers, Elena Salmistraro, is now on show at CC-Tapis in Milan
Edited by: Fiammetta Cesana
Photos by: Juliano Araujo
Expressing the love for textures and documentaries on exotic animals, “Elenamania” is her first solo-exhibition, curated by Valentina Guidi Ottobri, a path where sharp lines mark the boundary between ideas and concreteness. The “flat” and shadowless colors, which have turned into her signature technique, give shape to zoomorphic household objects, handmade rugs with geometric drawings and other furnitures, in such a clear, plastic way to make them look unreal. Hers are indeed fictional characters of a very real fairytale, the life itself, whose repetitive routines are taken ironically to escape boredom and abandon oneself to imaginary worlds.
Another peculiarity are the illustrations, which the artist, likewise few other contemporary designers, always uses as a starting point for her creations. The geometric, stereoscopic shapes are combined with pantone tones of the objects in a search for harmony between plane and volume, not neglecting graphics in excess to further trace the line between reality and imagination. As Edwin A. Abbott in his book “Flatland” (1884), where the novelist uses a fictional bi-dimensional world to question Victorian hierarchy, similarly Elena Salmistraro attempts to reconstruct usual domestic lifestyle through her own flatland’s characters. “Flatlandia” is actually the title of a collection of six rugs designed exclusively for CC-Tapis showroom.
After graduating in product design at the Politecnico of Milan in 2008, Elena achieved one success after the other. Se founded her own studio for architecture and design, where she still works today. She collaborates with several companies, among which Alessi, Bosa, Seletti, Yoox, as well as Art and Design galleries. Her projects have been selected for some of major exhibitions, including “The New Italian Design” at the Triennale Design Museum in Milan and “The New Aesthetic Design” at the 2013 Shanghai Biennale. In 2017, Elena was appointed as Ambassador of Italian Design in the World, and in the same year she won the “Salone del Mobile Milano Award” as “Best new debut designer”.
“Elemania”
CC-Tapis showroom
Milan
October 5 to 26, 2018
