< Previous30 RA D A R /A rt F or those accustomed to thinking of glass as a polished, pristine material, French-Lebanese artist Flavie Audi’s creations may come as something of a shock. Stripped of function and celebrated for its morphology, glass in her hands appears sometimes liquid, at others weightily solid; always, however, it gives the impression of having been formed by nature rather than human ingenuity. Audi’s jagged spheres resemble boulders from outer space, while her rippled panels recall the fl uid portals that separate worlds in sci-fi movies. With the addition of iridescent pigments and curious chemical reactions created by melting glass with resin and precious metals, their eff ect is quite uncanny. The London-based artist’s work is suffi ciently striking to have caught the eye of celebrated gallerist Nina Yashar, founder of Nilufar Gallery, who is dedicating part of her sprawling Nilufar Depot space in northern Space Invader Lebanese artist Flavie Audi’s otherworldly sculptures prompt viewers to see glass in an entirely new light Milan to a solo show by the artist this summer. “Flavie perfectly represents today’s hybrid world,” she says. “She refl ects a lot on current issues, and has a critical vision of the future of the planet. Her work is fascinating.” Post-lockdown circumstances permitting, the exhibition will run from the end of June until November, and will feature a series of works grouped together under the title Terra (In)fi rma. Among them will be the Gemscape panels, which incorporate rock-like forms suspended in pools of glass and resin (imagine an aerial photograph of an extraterrestrial landscape); and the Hyperterrestrial sphere (2017), made of black resin studded with glistening globules of coloured glass. In part these otherworldly objects muse on our plundering of Earth’s natural resources and imagine what a ‘post-human’ landscape might look like. “I try to defi ne a utopian, speculative future where humans create cosmic fragments and new types of geological formations,” says the artist. “Their origins could lie in a mythical celestial factory, deep inside the earth, in outer space, or in biological cells.” Terra (In)fi rma, she adds, not only evokes the “vulnerable and unstable” state of the planet and its elements, but also the contradictions of our dual dependency on AD_033_30-32_Radar_Art Flavie Audi_11304631.indd 3024/06/2020 09:27:54 PMGemscape 3, 2017. OPPOSITE PAGE FROM TOP: Flavie Audi with a piece from her LCD series; Fluid Rock 17, 2016. AD_033_30-32_Radar_Art Flavie Audi_11304631.indd 3124/06/2020 09:28:10 PM32 RA D A R / A rt nature and technology, with its ongoing battle between the physical and digital worlds. Iridescence is a recurring theme in the exhibition as it suggests oscillation between the real and the virtual: “We constantly shift between these realms in the same way that colours shift on an iridescent surface.” Though it imagines a possible future, Audi’s work also has roots in the past. Growing up in Lebanon, she spent summer holidays on a nature reserve. “My grandfather would surprise us by putting wooden doors and furniture in between the rock formations to create miniature forms of architecture,” she recalls. “This elevation of the rocks and the sense of contiguity with geology left a strong impression on me.” Later, when she came to London to study at the Architectural traditional craft techniques. “What fascinates me is how these diff erent things come together,” she says. “The man-made and the robotic processes are blurred, so the work looks earthy, aquatic and digitally rendered all at the same time. I like my work to have a certain mystery, because the most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.” She’s currently working on a series of acrylic paintings, but her ultimate ambition is to translate her ideas into architecture. “Spaces that reveal humanity and sensuality through glass, and blend gemmology and geology,” she muses. Audi’s is an idealist’s vision of the future – one where nature and artifi ce have ceased to be at loggerheads, and co-exist in harmony – but could it happen? “Every day, new materials are being created that blur the distinction between the synthetic and the natural,” she argues. “Perhaps in future, there will be no need to discriminate between the two?” Nilufar.com; fl avieaudi.com – AMY BRADFORD Association, Audi had her fi rst encounter with glass while making 3D models. “I constructed walls using undulating glass sheets,” she explains, “and was seduced by its sculptural potential.” She went on to do an MA in ceramics and glass at the Royal College of Art, remaining more drawn to the latter. “I felt more challenged by its enigmatic qualities – it exists on the border between absence and presence.” Further inspiration came from Japanese rock gardens, Chinese gongshi (or “scholars’ rocks”, which are traditionally revered in the Far East as objects of contemplation) and the work of American artist Georgia O’Keeff e, “for her colours, shapes and passion for rocks.” Audi’s Gemscape series is also infl uenced by old oriental landscape paintings. “In these compositions, cosmic forces and the ceaseless renewal of the universe are embedded within the features of the land,” she says. In her futuristic versions though, something else looms large – the LCD screen, omnipresent in our modern world. Her rectangular glass panels “echo liquid crystal’s colourful, free- fl owing state when viewed under a macro lens”, and consider the potential of digital technology to to both emulate and surpass nature. Evidently a deep thinker, Audi is expanding her material universe beyond glass. For her Nilufar show, she has experimented with new spray painting technology, digital carving and rapid prototyping as well as “ The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious ” FROM TOP: Detail of Hyperterrestrial 1, 2018; a view of the whole work. AD_033_30-32_Radar_Art Flavie Audi_11304631.indd 3224/06/2020 09:28:22 PMJC_ADmiddleeast_june2020.indd 119/05/20 10:5234 RA D A R / A t h o m e w it h SUNNY DELIGHT Design gallerist Guillaume Excoffier has transformed a boxy, white-walled Dubai apartment into a kaleidoscopically colourful home AD_033_34-37_Radar_At Home with Dubai_11292189.indd 3424/06/2020 09:30:49 PMPHOTOGR A PHS: A A SIY A J A GADE ESH FROM TOP: On the terrace, a 1960s Throw-Away sofa by Willie Landels for Zanotta has been dressed in yellow striped cotton and a Hermès blanket. The side table is Fifties French; Ukranian ceramics and a Mexican runner on the dining table; Guillaume Excoffi er beside his Fifties Jean Prouve desk. The lamp is a 1970s G allerist Guillaume Excoffi er is one half of Gabriel & Guillaume, which stages chic exhibits of collectible vintage design in Beirut, Paris and New York. Used to globetrotting, Guillaume spent lockdown in Dubai at his colourful Jumeriah apartment. What was the apartment like when you moved in? It was the typical Dubai apartment – lots of light but lacking charm; boxy rooms with white walls, beige tiling. But I loved that terrace and the location: I had always dreamt of living by the beach. What was the biggest renovation challenge? Giving life and warmth to standardised spaces. I wanted something fresh and fun. I added colour everywhere and I covered all the fl oors with patterned Madeline Weinrib rugs I had from my former store in Paris. How would you describe the decorating style? Sophisticated, eclectic and unexpected. It’s a beach home in a country which is sunny every day of the year. That was a great reason to be more daring than in a home in Paris or London. One thing you would change about the apartment? I would redo the whole bathroom (which design by Ettore Sottsass. The photograph is by Richard Long, 1982. OPPOSITE PAGE: The living room fl oor is layered with vintage Madeline Weinrib rugs; The sofa and coff ee table are both vintage Seventies pieces and the giant slingshots are by the British artist Christopher Jarratt. AD_033_34-37_Radar_At Home with Dubai_11292189.indd 3524/06/2020 09:31:00 PM36 RA D A R / A t h o m e w it h “I wanted something fresh and fun, so I added colour everywhere” is very contemporary) in a more Fifties, Carlo Scarpa style. Your favourite piece of furniture? The Jean Prouvé desk. It’s masculine but fun and totally timeless. Your biggest home extravagance? Nothing is extravagant when it makes you feel good at home – especially now in these crazy times. Your greatest domestic skill? I love cooking. Ottolenghi and Robuchon cookbooks are my favourites. What inspired your passion for design? Travel and reading. I remember being fascinated by Versailles as a child. Then I was amazed by a visit to Vizcaya in Miami as a teen. I grew up in Bordeaux too, which is a fabulous 18th century city. What you see as a child grows in you, and you enrich your cultural references as years go by. The possession you’d never part with? An Eames armchair I inherited it from my father, who bought it in the 1970s. It’s in rosewood, while the contemporary versions are made using walnut. Your design heroes? Luis Barragan, the Mexican architect, for his gorgeous mix of modernist architecture and Mexican colours. And Renzo Mongiardino, my favourite decorator of all time. He created spaces that were extraordinarily sumptuous, yet inviting. What’s on your bedside table? A biography of Joan Juliet Buck, the Nineties Paris Vogue editor. Where in your home are you happiest ? Outside lying on the sofa, looking at the sky at night. It’s unique to live like that, always barefoot and in shorts, while being in the middle of an exciting international city. Your fondest memory of home? Last New Year’s Eve. I cooked dinner for 20 friends from Paris and Dubai. And at midnight we went to the beach to see the fi reworks all around. gabrieletguillaume.com - TALIB CHOUDHRY ABOVE FROM LEFT: A 1960s armchair by Gae Aulenti sits alongside a vintage Seventies fl oor lamp. The contemporary ceramic stool is by India Mahdavi; A 19th-century sofa on the terrace; a mix of vintage photographs and drawings hang above chairs by Garouste & Bonetti, made in 1979 for the restaurant of the Parisian disco club Le Palace; 1930s Rorschach tests are arranged above Excoffi er’s bed. Pottery Barn quilt. AD_033_34-37_Radar_At Home with Dubai_11292189.indd 3624/06/2020 09:31:26 PMINSPIRED BUYS Fl-y pendant light by Ferruccio Laviani for Kartell, shopkartell.com PS Vago easy chair from Ikea, ikea.com Turnabouts rug by Florence Broadhurst, therugseller.co.uk Componibili Storage Unit, La Double J x Kartell, amara.com Sorrento trinket boxes by Jonathan Adler, jonathanadler.com Silk ikat cushion by Les Ottomans, amara.com AD_033_34-37_Radar_At Home with Dubai_11292189.indd 3724/06/2020 09:31:51 PMThe Extravagance of Less A new wave of Middle Eastern designers is bringing a refined minimalist aesthetic to product design and spaces 38 RA D A R / N a m e t o k n o w AD_033_38-41_Radar_NameToKnow_11280501.indd 3824/06/2020 09:32:43 PMThe Crossover Artist NORO KHACHATRYAN Belgium-based designer Noro Khachatryan’s star is in the ascendant thanks to his signature blend of Spartan silhouettes and timeless materials, which proves that less can defi nite- ly be more. Whether he is creating totemic design-art pieces or enveloping rooms with rare stone or burnished metal, Armenia-born Khachatryan takes a very graphic, reductive approach, letting the raw ingredients – think wood, onyx and bronze – shine, whether they are polished or not. “The materials play the main role in all my projects,” he says. “I always try to understand their properties and essential character instead of trying to manipulate them into something ‘innovative’.” It has proven to be a recipe for success. How would you describe what you do? I design and develop objects and spaces. It’s a crossover of architecture, product design and craft. My work is based on emotions charac- terised by form, fi nishing and details. I try to approach every project with an open mind and control, limiting each gesture to the strictly necessary. What are the inspirations behind your product designs? Urban landscapes and classical architecture intrigue me immensely. But even a small object with an atypical prop- osition, shape or fi nish can be a source of inspiration. What was the brief for the Beirut pent- house you recently completed? It’s in the middle of the lively Gemmayzeh neighbour- hood, but the clients wanted a zen and sophis- ticated refuge with the use of natural, noble materials – a philosophy that was completely in line with mine as a designer. Would you say that you’re a minimalist? There is a ‘minimalistic’ approach in my work, which is a result of selectivity, but in my prac- tice I see the ‘minimalism’ more as an attitude rather than a deliberate style. How would you say your Armenian heri- tage infl uences your work? It is a diffi cult question and I don’t really know the answer. I left Armenia when I was 17 and I started my career as designer in Belgium. I’ve always wondered; would my work be very diff erent if I was based in Armenia, or in the US or else- where? Probably. What I know for certain is that my personality and creativity is a mix of many aspects, including my roots. The trait you most admire in others? Honesty. It makes the most complex matters much easier in life. What makes you feel your most creative? Travelling and feeling disconnected from my own context. Who are your design heroes? The list of designers that I fi nd inspiring is quite long, but an eclectic top three would be Josef Hoff mann, Carlo Scarpa, Konstantin Grcic. How do you relax? By doing something when I feel I’m in the right mood for it, which can be even work related. Your favourite place in the world? I am quite sensitive to the environment that sur- rounds me, but on the other hand, there is no such a thing for me as a favourite place in the world. Neither do I really feel like I belong to a particular place. What would you do as a profession, if you weren’t a designer? I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a designer, but fi lm directing has always been a parallel dream. studiokhachatryan.com ABOVE FROM TOP: The striking kitchen of a private residence in Lebanon designed by Khachatryan; the designer; limited edition Dy pendant lamp in brass and glass. OPPOSITE PAGE: If tables in brass and marble. AD_033_38-41_Radar_NameToKnow_11280501.indd 3924/06/2020 09:32:51 PMNext >