Bivouac: ronan and erwan bouroullec. MCA chicago.

bivouac | centre pompidou-metz | 2011 | click > enlarge

[ Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec ] Bivouac is a mid-career exhibition highlighting two of the most exciting and innovative designers of the 21st century. Born and based in France, the brothers not only design elegant and beautiful objects—chairs, sofas, lamps, tables, and dishware—but they also develop pioneering hybrid forms that defy categorization and shape space in clever new ways. The title of the exhibition is inspired by this multipurpose hybridity, as a bivouac is a lightweight encampment or shelter that can be adapted to its environment just as Bouroullec products are adapted by their end-users and the spaces they inhabit.

bivouac | centre pompidou-metz | 2011

280 studies | bivouac | centre pompidou-metz | 2011

Alessi’s Ovale collection of plates and cutlery designed by the Bouroullec brothers will be on display as part of the exhibition. The Ovale collection originally launched in 2010 and just recently extended to include two new color versions of the table service: pink and light grey. The addition of the full cutlery service is also new for 2012.

Flos’s Piani, a light with a flat base and top available in multiple colors. Its enlarged base functions as a tray table to contain objects like pens, eyeglasses, keys, coins and paper clips. Piani’s light shines down on them as though they’re center stage. Piani features LED lighting with an injection printed lamp body in ABS. Dissipater in polished pressofused aluminium. Diffuser in injection printed optical PMMA. 2011.