Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec‘s curtain collections for Kvadrat at the Stockholm Furniture Fair generate a relationship with luminosity by creating different spacial sensations depending on the quality of light. While Rennes becomes intensely colorful when lit from behind, Chainettes results in a greater sense of transparency. The thin colors inside of the lines softly react to the strength of light.
Rennes and Chainette are the first realizations from Seventeen Screens, an exhibition that incorporated interweaving sequences of modular elements, held together by joints and hanging systems. Here, aquarelle drawings were translated into a set of interrelated units, with surfaces creating an interplay of light and color that corresponds to changing ambient conditions.
“Embroidery has always been something important to us.” Ronan Bouroullec describes.
“The area where we come from, Brittany, has a long tradition about it. We saw on various occasions traditional clothes with gold yarns and colorful patterns. we have always had an interest in it – and for this collection, the delicacy, the lightness of this technique was the proper translation of our drawings.”
“Embroidery, even mechanical, has a very subtle way of enhancing the curtains and what happens when you see through,” he continues.
“The yarns somehow model the surface while informing very smartly the colors. It still conveys a certain memory of old handcrafted embroideries, but our approach to patterns and the context of Kvadrat brought us to this very engineered and precise technique.” Photography by Brian Buchard
