A seat and its double: on one side it encloses and protects, on the other it opens up and welcomes. A clear ambivalence which elaborately separates form and content, image and concept, the name hood hints at this double function. The hood is both an ancient and contemporary urban symbol; it protects and frames the face but it can also hide it, signalling a refusal to communicate or interact. The impact is intense, and everything is a game of contrast: the three dimensional seat seems to imply the two-dimensionality of a drawing, the overlapping colours don’t divide but complement, tension isn’t alleviated but stabilized. Clarissa is a dynamic easy chair,ready for action but open to relaxation, the temporary suspension of activity. A combination of competition and collaboration, provocation and aesthetics.
Designer
by Patricia Urquiola, 2006
Patricia Urquiola was born in Oviedo (Spain), and she lives and works in Milan. She studied Architecture at the Technical University of Madrid and at the Polytechnic University of Milan, where she graduated in 1989 under Achille Castiglioni. She was assistant lecturer for Achille Castiglioni; she worked with Vico Magistretti; and she was also Head of Design for Lissoni Associati. In 2001 she opened her own studio, working in the fields of product design, interiors and architecture. Her most recent designs include: The “Museo del Gioiello” jewellery museum in Vicenza, the Hotel Mandarin Oriental in Barcelona, the Hotel Das Stue in Berlin, the Spa of the Hotel Four Seasons in Milan; retail and display designs for Gianvito Rossi, BMW, Cassina, Ferragamo, Flos, Missoni, Molteni, Officine Panerai, H&M, Santoni and Pitti Uomo Firenze. She has created products for numerous major companies in Italy and abroad, including: Agape, Alessi, Axor-Hansgrohe, Baccarat, Boffi, Budri, De Padova, Driade, Flos, Gan, Georg Jensen, Glas Italia, Haworth, Kartell, Kvadrat, Listone Giordano, Louis Vuitton, Moroso, Mutina, Rosenthal and Verywood. Some of her products are exhibited in the great museums of art and design, including the MoMa in New York, the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris, the Museum of Design in Zurich, the Vitra Design Museum in Basel, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Stedelijk in Amsterdam, and the Triennale in Milan. She has won numerous international accolades, including: The Medalla de Oro al Mérito en las Bellas Artes from the Spanish government; the order of Isabella the Catholic, presented to her by His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain; “Designer of the decade” for the magazines Home and Häuser; “Designer of the Year” for the magazines Wallpaper, AD Spain, Elle Decor International and Architektur und Wohnen.