Company Name
Wolf-Gordon

Company URL
www.wolfgordon.com

Description
Wolf-Gordon collaborated with Dutch designer and artist Aliki van der Kruijs on the geometric upholstery collection, VEER by Aliki van der Kruijs, which investigates structure and form through a sophisticated grid motif. Manipulations of the matrix make up the three patterns of the collection: FLOAT, TURN, and SLIDE.

Following a 2017 ceramics residency in Arita - the “Town of Porcelain” - the designer developed a conceptual framework around the tight grid pattern of an antique kimono she found in a market. Van der Kruijs reproduced a simplified grid from the vintage fabric on acetate and began to wrap 3 dimensional objects including a porcelain vase with the pattern, leading to overlaps and “breaks” in the grid. Concurrently, Van der Kruijs researched depictions of geometry in vintage science textbooks from the 1960s, and the work of Ettore Sottsass, whose drawings in Metaphors (1972-78) superposed grids on landscape photos, suggesting how a regular grid can be wed to an irregular topography.

The discovery from this book inspired van der Kruijs to experiment by wrapping the grid around a porcelain rock she had picked up in a quarry in Arita, which she called her "philosopher's stone". Through this process, she was able to "map" its geography and give it a physical place outside of the porcelain industry that had stripped the area of its natural landscape, where a whole mountain had been leveled due to the global demand for the town's beloved white porcelain. The act also enabled the designer to work through and address how absence affects our daily lives, especially in how we treat our surroundings. The dialectic process between 2-D and 3-D, as well as the exploration of her surroundings, led van der Kruijs to imbue VEER with a sophistication and richness that will elevate the built environment.

VEER by Aliki van der Kruijs consists of three patterns and a total of 24 sku’s. High
performing, as well as aesthetically compelling, FLOAT, TURN, and SLIDE, exceed all ACT
standards for commercial upholstery textiles and have all achieved 100,000 double
rubs on the Wyzenbeek abrasion test. FLOAT is formed through a line segment of boxes shifted slightly out of the grid to create a new pattern. TURN is formed from a 2D section that was tilted at an approximate 45 degree angle off the grid, featuring chenille yarn for added dimensionality. SLIDE is a reflection of a sketch by Van der Kruijs that, by omission of the Y axis, achieves a more linear composition.

The collection also has a distinct color palette of blues, reds, browns, olives and golds, as well as neutrals, which was initially generated by van der Kruijs’ photography of weathered architectural materials in Arita.

Product Video

VEER by Aliki van der Kruijs