There is an inherent stillness to this story, a rejection of the frenzied speed of life, an exhortation to turn inwards and search for meaning and value in the physical, the unadorned and the everyday.

Visually, there is a gentle humility to this story with a focus on simple, unadorned silhouettes. Extraneous detail is removed but painterly effects and marks of process are preserved in final pieces.

Materials and patterns embrace handcrafted, introspective qualities, using traditional methods to create a sense of do mestic comfort, while finishes mimic layers of old varnish on paintings through hand-painted glazes.

STILL LIFE was first published in MIX Magazine issue 73, and the following material, pattern and finish directions are explored in more detail in our 2025 CMF Directions.

 

Fernando & Humberto Campana | Fauteuil Favela, 1991 | Collection Centre Pompidou, Paris Musée national d’art moderne – Centre de création industrielle | Photo © Adagp, Paris

 

Wood Collage

 

The patched patterns explored in Find (2023/24) evolve with three-dimensionality as wood is pieced together. With an absence of internal framing, the Favela chair by Fernando & Humberto Campana is composed of meticulously hand-assembled pine and teak strips.

 

Diederik Schneemann | The Dutch Masters Cupboard | Oak, glass, old oil paintings | Photo courtesy of Rossana Orlandi

 

Diederik Schneemann breathes new life into forgotten Dutch Masters’ paintings, tessellating the canvases to form a unique cabinet.

 

Peter Glassford | Collage Tile | Rosa Morada wood, whitewash finish | Photo courtesy of Adorno

 

Matt Touch

 

Acne Studios | AW 2023 accessories | Musubi midi tote | Suede leather, denim print

 

The gentle humility of this story manifests in organic surfaces that attain mattified, almost powder-like finishes. In fashion, denim printed suede gives an untreated and natural effect in Acne Studios’ Musubi tote.

 

Lola Montes Schnabel | Stool | Cement, painted ceramic inlay | Photo Filippo Pincolini, courtesy of Nilufar Gallery

 

In solid surfaces, coloured cement is left unsealed achieving a chalky finish in Lola Montes Schnabel’s Stool.

 

Domestic Motifs

 

Sarah Espeute | Oeuvres Sensibles | Duo Indigo Placemat | hand-dyed antique linen and cotton, hand-embroidery | Photo Maxime Verret

 

From vessels and vases to cutlery and tableware, domestic and everyday objects are reinterpreted in simplified, unadorned and naive motifs. Hand-embroidered outlines of curated cutlery, tableware and food decorate a linen runner by Sarah Espeute.

 

LAYERED x Linda Ring | Fruttato Blanket | Lambswool

 

Abstracted silhouettes of everyday objects feature in the Fruttato Blanket designed by Linda Ring for LAYERED.

 

Élitis | Naoshima | Art Paper collection | Paper lamination

 

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