How can we classify certain objects whose forms free from any constraint seem closer to sculptures or collector’s items than to mass-produced pieces of furniture? They are proposals of art-design, original pieces able by themselves to characterize a setting and able to talk about the person who has chosen them and uses them more than a thousand words. Their creators are often designers who have let their imagination run wild, choosing to produce one-off pieces or limited editions, or artists intrigued by the possibility of using their works in different ways.

ISLAMOPOLITAN (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES)

ISLAM+COSMOPOLITAN. CONVERSATION BETWEEN ISLAM AND DESIGN COLLECTIVE

An initiative of Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq).

Curated by Khalid Shafar and Giuseppe Moscatello

The extraordinary exhibition Islamopolitan arrives from Sharjah, the small emirate to the east of Dubai that was chosen as Islamic Cultural Capital of 2014. Islamopolitan (Islam+Cosmopolitan) is a word coined for this exhibition, which sets out to examine multiculturalism and diversity as well as the need to respect the general context. An ironic approach encourages the local and the global in their philosophies and at the same time explores the tensions between the two worlds. The structure of work and daily life, religion, architecture, rituals and decoration have been interpreted in relation to the present day.

Designers of twelve different nationalities present works that take a contemporary look at the rituals of an ancient culture, through the media of furniture, jewellery, photography, video, art, installations, objects, upholstery, carpets, fashion, ceramics and sound. Islamopolitan is a travelling exhibition making its rst visit to Eu-rope: after Sharjah and Istanbul, it will be in Milan for Design Week and for the opening.


Expo 2015, from 14 April to 14 May.

www.maraya.ae - www.1971design.ae