Abstraction and functionalism inform two exhibitions from the maverick multidisciplinary French designer Ora ïto at St-Paul de Vence and Marseille.
BY
French designer Ora ïto has recently been working on a series of public transport projects in France, from the transformation of the lively urban hub of Place Castellane in Marseille to a progressive new tram line in Nice. Whether working on mobility, product or spatial design, for the past 25 years, an ‘alphabet’ rooted in modernism and postmodernism that he calls ‘Grammatology’ has always been foundational. Now, he has given form to this language for the first time through a series of contemporary sculptures, presented in a two-part exhibition in two personally meaningful locations in the south of France.
Sketched then digitally designed and manufactured in aluminium and resin, the ‘Grammatology’ objects are like aerodynamic buttons with smooth, curved edges. ‘The intensity of the line creates a vibration of energy,’ he explains – the objects’ bright, optimistic forms appear to float, seemingly defying gravity. As a designer usually bound by constraints of daily life, ïto delights in working with a lack of function too, crafting these deconstructed building blocks to the graphic interface through which we experience the global, dynamic, technological and ergonomic world.
Their lineage back to the abstraction and functionalism of the 20th century can be understood through the contexts in which they are presented. Firstly, at Podgorny gallery in St-Paul de Vence, where ïto’s grandfather owned the Galerie Frédéric Gollong. It was here that he became well-acquainted with the art of Alexander Calder and Joan Miró, today reflected in the rotative and swooping curves of the artwork’s edges. And now, at Galerie Kolektiv, on the third floor ‘Street’ of the Cité Radieuse in Marseille, where the works follow the primary colour scheme and the ‘Modular’ measurements upon which Le Corbusier based the architecture.
Marseille is the city where ïto grew up and as a designer he has become synonymous with the Cité Radieuse after founding the Marseille Modulor (MAMO) gallery on its rooftop in 2013. His work with artists such as Daniel Buren, Dan Graham and Felice Varini has evolved the reputation of the building as an exploratory destination for contemporary art, design and culture: ‘Form follows function, yet sometimes form can follow your ideas,’ he says.
Grammatology, Part I, was on show at the Galerie Podgorny in Saint Paul-de-Vence from 15 May to 15 July. Grammatology, Part II, presented at the Galerie Kolektiv Cité Radieuse in the Unité d’Habitation Le Corbusier in Marseille from 18 July to 24 August.