PaperCity Magazine

October 2015 - Houston

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For the design-obsessed, this is big news: Moroso, the Italian furniture innovator known for its partnerships with top artists, architects and designers worldwide such as Patricia Urquiola, Tord Boontje, Ron Arad, Tokujin Yoshioka and Doshi Levien, is opening a showroom in Houston's West Ave October 13. It's Moroso's second branded showroom in the United States, along with a flagship in New York's SoHo Design District. The Houston location is a collaboration with Adam Branscum of BD Home, who also owns another pair of high-minded emporiums in West Ave, Ligne Roset and Poliform. He's wanted to lure Moroso to town since he began representing the collection two years ago. "More than anything else we carry, Moroso is a very forward-thinking brand, very playful and energetic," he says. Founded in 1952 in northeastern Italy, Moroso is led by artistic director Patrizia Moroso, who joined the family business in the 1980s. For her first collection in the '80s, Patrizia worked with Massimo Iosa Ghini, founder of the avant-garde Boldism movement. Since then, she's searched out the world's most creative emerging talent to join her stable, including Ron Arad, who produced complex, sculptural upholstered seating for the company in the 1990s. His Three Skin and Ripple chairs have become classics. Moroso now generates multiple collections of indoor and outdoor furniture and rugs created by talents such as Patricia Urquiola, who first began working with Moroso in 1998. Urquiola's Lowland collection launched two years later, catapulting the designer into international fame. Her 2002 Fijord and Gentry seating — edgy, sophisticated and comfortable — have become synonymous with the Moroso look. Close friends, Urquiola and Patrizia continue to collaborate on new furniture each year, most recently on (Love Me) Tender, Mathilda and Clarissa. Perhaps more than anything, Moroso is known for researching and experimenting with new materials. Ross Lovegrove's 2005 Supernatural chair uses a new technology to create lightweight and durable outdoor furniture; Konstantin Grcic's 2003 lacy, sturdy forms employ a multilayered plastic composite; and the 2010 M'Afrique collection was inspired by an indigenous craft produced by Senegalese weavers using fishing- net yarns. The new 2,000-square-foot store, Branscum says, will have many of Moroso's newest and most iconic pieces, along with the Diesel Living collection from the fashion house. You'll have a chance to meet Urquiola when she's in town for the opening, Tuesday and Wednesday, October 13 and 14. Moroso, 2800 Kirby Dr. in West Ave, call Ligne Roset for info, 713.630.6500; morosousa.com. OCTOBER | PAGE 65 | 2015 mad for By Rebecca Sherman Italy's most forward-thinking furniture design heads to Houston. We chatted by phone with Patrizia Moroso, who was ensconced in her house in Udine, the small town in northeast Italy where her family's 63-year-old furniture design company is based. Why Houston? It's the perfect place to start something new. Texas is an important base for us; it's growing in many ways such as culture and medical, and there are lots of clever young people moving there. Moroso is where they can find something different, something more colorful with good design. Where are the most exciting new ideas coming from? America is where the most important things are coming from in terms of art, music, literature. I see a very interesting movement in design with very young people, a phenomenon of young designers transforming themselves with craftsmanship and finding a way to produce their own things. That is special. On one side are big companies doing serious things; on the other, young designers experimenting. This is something that shows dynamic movement. Design is influenced by architecture and art, and the most powerful art in the world is done in the U.S. now. America is for me a place of great energy, where all the creative disciplines are growing. A favorite Moroso design. My favorite is always the newest one. Some of our products remain as icons of our style and symbols of our thinking. The first collaboration with Ron Arad was when he was 25 years old, doing the Victoria and Albert sofa in 2000. It is so personal and special even after 15 years. With Urquiola, when she did the Fjord chair and stools, that was part of our beginning. We were in New York visiting the Noguchi studio, and we stayed all day looking at the house and garden. She designed the Fjord pieces in memory of that visit. And, the beginning of our collaboration with Tord Bootje in 2008 was a fantastic experience. We went to Africa, and we saw people weaving beautiful objects with strong yarns that were used for fishing nets. Tord designed our first outdoor collection, and it was beautiful, like a fantastic butterfly or winged insect. To me, those three designs represent the soul of the company. Tell us about your house in Undine. It's an incredible piece of land, about 9,000 square meters of an old abandoned garden. When I saw it, I called Patricia [Urquiola], and I told her I wanted her to design a house for me. We are very close. She was inspired by the '50s way of thinking — very clean but warm. In the end, she did the perfect, simple house. The roof is painted black, like tree bark. The windows and door frames are oxblood red, like the leaves. My husband is African, and it's red like the ground there. Red and black are my two favorite colors. The house is like two cubes connected in the center. Inside, it's all oak, very calm. I asked Patricia to make the biggest windows possible, so that I could feel like I was living in the garden. Many of the walls are totally glass. In summer, it's like living in a jungle. In the winter, it's like living in the snow. Dream collaboration. Well, it's not something I dream about. If I want to work with someone, I do. Like with artist Marina Abramovic. We were in New York, and one day she introduced me to the architect Daniel Libeskind. I asked if he wanted to make something together, and we are working on a project that is part of an art installation for the Marina Abramovic Institute. He became a good friend, and we are collaborating on more projects. These kinds of things happen every day. On the Phone with Patrizia Moroso Patricia Urquiola's (Love Me) Tender modular sofa collection Bouquet, a swivel chair by Tokujin Yoshioka with petals of microfiber in four color combinations Banjooli, designed by Sebastian Herkner for M'Afrique collection of indoor/outdoor furniture made in Moroso's Dakar workshop Patrizia Moroso

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