Homo Faber will be an exclusive event dedicated to European Craftsmanship that will be taking place from 14-30 September at the prestigious Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice. Even though it isn’t the focus of The Most Expensive Homes blog, we thought that our readers would like to read about this unique event that seeks to honour arts and its creators will be organized by the Michelangelo Foundation. Now, our blog will be featuring a few things you ought to know about this unique event, so stay tuned.
This unique exhibition will put fine craftsmanship in the international design spectrum and give recognition to master craftsmen, artisans and designers. It will encompass a wide variety of arts and disciplines, from jewellery to bespoke designs as well as showcasing the rarest artisanal techniques.
This event will take place in a number of historical and architectural spaces throughout the Fondazione Giorgio Cini. Many spaces will be adorned with the most exquisite designs, innovative installations and live showcases. It will have a total space of around 4,000 square metres and it will be the largest one ever held in the Fondazione, offering the public an immersive experience of European craftsmanship.
“Homo Faber is an expression that was first coined during the Renaissance and it captures and celebrates the infinite creativity of human beings. The exhibit will provide a panoramic view of European fine craftsmanship but it will nevertheless have a singular undercurrent: what human beings can do better than machines.” – Johann Rupert, Co-founder of the Michelangelo Foundation.
These two ancient art techniques are quite traditional in Portugal and one of the brands that will be representing the country’s legacy will be Boca do Lobo. The brand is set to showcase two incredible pieces, the Heritage sideboard and Filigree Mirror. The first one is lined with hand-painted tiles while its interiors feature four drawers finished in gold leaf and two shelves in bronze glass while the second one was completely hand-crafted with each brass cord fitted with the utmost precision, it is also gilded in 18k gold. Both of these designs flourish in a shape traditional to the Portuguese culture and art. They will be exhibited at the space: Best of European Craftsmanship, at Sala degli Arazzi.
The Discovery and Rediscovery Exhibition will showcase 20 very special artisanal techniques inspired by the list of métiers d’art outlined by the French Institut National des Métiers d’Art (INMA). Each technique will be demonstrated by an artisan from a European luxury house whose history and ethos is closely linked to the skill on view. Visitors will be able to interact with master artisans from each of the Maisons as they work on site, making beautiful items that require skills such as crystal engraving, gem sculpting, hand weaving, Lunéville embroidery or bookbinding. This exhibit will all about showing passion for craftsmanship and materials.
Now discover the participating luxury houses and their specific techniques that will make this exhibition one to remember:
Bookbinding: Smythson (UK); Crystal engraving: J. & L. Lobmeyr (Austria); Cutlery making: Lorenzi Milano (Italy); Embroidering (linen): Embroiderers from Madeira (Portugal); Embroidering: Lesage (France); Enamelling (grisaille enamel): Vacheron Constantin (Switzerland); Eyewear making (bespoke spectacles): Bonnet (France); Fabric weaving (silk): Antico Setificio Fiorentino (Italy); Fan making: Duvelleroy (France); Gemstone cutting (the ‘the Mystery Set™’): Van Cleef & Arpels (France); Gemstone sculpting (glyptic art): Cartier (France); Glassworking (decorating techniques): Venini (Italy); Gold nib crafting: Montblanc (Germany); Leatherworking: Dunhill (UK); Perfume creating: Aquaflor (Italy); Porcelain painting: Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg (Germany); Saddle making: Hermès (France); Shoemaking (Velatura on leather): Santoni (Italy); Tapestry weaving (Aubusson tapestries): Robert Four (France); Watchmaking: Jaeger-LeCoultre (Switzerland)
With fine craftsmanship in mind, India Mahdavi has applied her vivid imagination to narrate a personal story of her relationship with the world of master artisans. As a result, the highly skilled creator will be presenting two ingenious spaces, the Henry Rosseau Forever and Merry-Go-Round, that showcase the passion and excellence of artisans as well as the visionary designer.
In Henry Rosseau Forever, India Mahdavi pays homage to the French post-impressionist painter. To create this beautiful winter garden, the designer alongside a series of artisans in Europe used the natural material, rattan to develop a cluster of pieces, including handmade chairs, masks and intricate rattan marquetry panels. Mahdavi tells a story of how such a noble and traditional material can give form to new and sophisticated shapes. The exhibit will be further enhanced by a black and white mosaic floor, bespoke mirrors and dramatic lighting created especially for this exhibit by Italian master craftsmen.
Merry-Go-Round will be a contemporary space in the shape of a rotunda. It will feature Mahdavi’s characteristic use of bold colours. The creator pays tribute to the exhibit’s beautiful setting in Venice by using Italian fabrics such as velvet and satin and designing a typically vibrant colour scheme that evokes the sea. With its intricate handmade details, this space demonstrates the importance of the human hand in contemporary design, showing how fine craftsmanship gives added value to interiors in a way in which machines simply cannot.
Representing 23 different nationalities and speaking 20 different languages, the 105 Young Ambassadors selected from Europe’s best educational establishments are studying a range of subjects from architecture and design to shoemaking, gemstone engraving, wax modelling, stone masonry and cabinet making. They constitute some of the very best in young European talent and put a face on the future of creativity and craftsmanship. The students will be present during the exhibition to interact with visitors in the 16 different exhibit spaces in a meaningful way, explaining the many fascinating objects on display and imparting their own knowledge of the skills and techniques being used by master artisans right before their eyes.
Participation in this one-of-a-kind programme offers the students a unique opportunity to meet some of Europe’s finest artisans, designers, institutions and luxury houses, as well as to interact with their peers and to form a network to carry with them into their future careers. The Young Ambassadors programme is an educational initiative of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in partnership with the Michelangelo Foundation.
Some of the institutions chosen were Ecolé Boulle (France), Akademie fur Kunst und Gestaltung (Germany), Accademia di Belle Arti Aldo Galli, Istituto Europeo di Design Como (Italy), Art Academy of Latvia (Latvia), Vilnius Academy of Arts (Lithuania); Escola Superior de Artes Decorativas, Ricardo do Esperito Santo Silva Foundation (Portugal), Escola Massana (Spain), City & Guilds of London Art School (United Kingdom), Mozarteum University Salzburg (Austria), UMPRUM, Academy of Arts, Architecture & Design (Czech Republic), Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (Denmark), Academy of Fine Arts (Poland), Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Institute of Architecture (Slovakia) and Haute Ecole d’Art et de Design (Switzerland), just to name a few.
As a whole, Homo Faber will be an event fuelled by an ardent belief in the power and value of real human interaction. Visitors will have the opportunity to see things in real time and speak to artisans about their craft as well as virtually enter the ateliers of the masters, among many other aspects of the fine world of craftsmanship. It is definitely an authentic experience one should attend!
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Source: Homo Faber Event
