The Aram Gallery opened with a refreshed installation of Prototypes and Experiments – a show where prototypes and experimental designs sourced from both emerging and established designers’ studios are exhibited together. This next phase is the third cycle in the Gallery’s long-term and ever-changing exhibition.

 

Prototypes and experiments are critical elements in the development process of any new design. The prototype is the manifestation of the design idea on its way to production; experiments are more like steps on the way. The prototype, being part of a process, makes more real an idea that will lead to a final piece, and is not made with the intention of being sold or shown outside the designer’s studio. Experiments are also unique artefacts but are even less refined and sometimes constitute a partial sketch on the way to the prototype.

 

These objects however, can hold a rare charm; there’s an increased closeness to the designer’s imagination, and a directness to the making that often changes when manufacturing and marketing forces are fully integrated. The objects might be characterised by a technical or material discrepancy, compared to the final product, due to a lack of access of the designer to technology at the process stage. It’s a stark contrast to the current wave of limited editions – which has made for the unique to be diluted by multiples and for the production piece to be restrained in order to increase the value of singular pieces.

 

The Aram Gallery is interested in the way designers think and work. We have chosen to present these unique artefacts as part of an ongoing search for insight into the design process. Prototypes and Experiments included selected drawings alongside the pieces taken from the designers’ physical or digital sketchbooks.

 

Participants: &Made, Roger Arquer, Jorre van Ast, Shin Azumi, Caterina Fadda Studio, Max Frommeld, Alex Hellum, Jamily, Ronen Kadushin, Gabriel Klasmer, André Klauser, Max Lamb, Michael Marriott, Pearson Lloyd, Damien Poulain, TextFields, Nina Tolstrup and Vandasye.

 

Photographer Shira Klasmer