Tendence 2015: 24 creative designers from the modern crafts segment with striking works made of wood, glass, paper and ceramic

Creative, artistic and extraordinary - that's the only way to describe the work of the 24 participants of this year's ‘Talents’ programme in the ‘Modern Crafts’ section of Tendence. There, they have the chance to present their ideas to an audience of national and European trade visitors.

From 29 August to 1 September 2015, they will be showing their individual articles and small product series made of wood, glass, paper, ceramic, etc. in the Interiors & Decoration product segment (Hall 9.0). In this segment alone, designers from six countries will be bringing successful and interesting examples of modern arts & crafts with them to Frankfurt am Main. “The international ‘Talents’ programme for young designers is a highlight for our buyers and exhibitors because the products to be seen are unique, well thought-out, beautifully made and highly aesthetic”, says Nicolette Naumann, Vice President Ambiente and Tendence.

The participants are selected by Messe Frankfurt, the German Arts & Crafts Association (Bundesverband Kunsthandwerk) and the Frankfurt Museum for Applied Art. Additionally, Design Flanders from Brussels is organising a guest presentation with five selected ‘Talents’ from Belgium this year. Together with the exhibition of award-winning works from the renowned ‘Form - Design from Crafts and Industry’ competition, as well as the presentation of the Hessian State Award for German Arts & Crafts, the Modern Crafts Talents area and the new ‘Next’ area on the same subject in Hall 9.0, not to mention the Lower Saxony Crafts Collection exhibition, this leaves no doubt about the importance of modern arts & crafts at Tendence.

The ‘Form’ design exhibition in Hall 9.0 presents selected products from the competition organised by the German Arts & Crafts Association and Messe Frankfurt. Launched over 60 years ago, the competition - the only one to link arts & crafts with industrial design - is now one of Germany's most important design awards.

The Lower Saxony Crafts Collection is a platform where creative and artistic craftspeople and designers from Hanover, Lower Saxony, the Federal Republic of Germany, Europe and the rest of the world can show their work. At Tendence, it presents 24 examples from a competition and can be seen in Hall 9.0. The Lower Saxony Crafts Collection is planned as a touring exhibition for the coming two years.

Natural beauty from the forest: wood as a versatile material

The ‘Collectionaire’ by Moupila is a cupboard full of hidden treasures: each individual part is exchangeable and can be used in a multitude of ways. It is hand-made of European oak and produced in the workshop of Mieke Keukelier and Tim Schockaert in Belgium.

Ergonomics meets design: drawing its inspiration from nature, the gentle, wave-like form of ‘Tidelands Bench’ by Clemens Gerstenberger guarantees a healthy and comfortable seating position. Distinguished by elaborate workmanship and a careful choice of materials, emphasis has also been given to durability and functionality. Moreover, despite the artistic design language, the focus is always on aesthetic principles. Stable feet made of wrought iron ensure the bench is extremely sturdy.

Using domestic wood, in most cases freshly cut, Stefan Behr creates dishes, sculptures and vases distinguished by unadorned lines and different textures under the motto, “wood turning is not a crime”. Depending on the type and properties of the wood, the dishes have either a rough, structured or a fine, smooth surface. The dishes are given a particularly unusual look by their tapering bottoms: depending on what's in them, the centre of gravity changes thus changing the orientation and the perspective of the object.

Durability and functionality combined with aesthetic qualities are the main attributes of the basketry of Diana Stegmann. The articles from her ‘Basket wave’ series combine the contrasts of soft wickerwork with a prickly surface. The overall woven shape of the body is organic and flowing. Each piece is unique and has around 1,200 spikes emerging from its body.

Dietmar Weihrauch gains inspiration on his travels. There and in the forest, he gathers ideas for his furniture. Using traditional handcrafting methods, he makes unique items from wood, especially cupboards. He took the idea for his ‘Fence’, which is made of sand-blasted oak slats, from the stockades of pile dwellings. Wing doors open in the middle and both sides to reveal that the ‘Fence’ is actually a piece of furniture.

Eye catchers: impressive objects made of glass, porcelain and ceramic

With her focus on sustainability, Linde Herman makes use of broken glass. For example, she melts the end pieces into attractive discs and, by pairs, endeavours to form similar glass necks and joins them with coloured rubber rings. The round necks make them into a revolving circle. The designer creates glass and ceramic objects, as well as furniture and textiles, and received the Henry van de Velde Award for Young Talents in 2008.

Delicate, ephemeral, imperfectly appealing - that's how Anke Neumann describes the material she works with and, with her company Lichtpapier, she illuminates hand-made paper in an unusual way. By exploiting the opposing properties of light and paper exactly, she creates poetic light sculptures and surfaces and bathes rooms in gentle light. (top image)

Fruit and vegetables are the priority of Hsian Jung from Taipei: his collection, ‘The Fruit Shop’, consists of hand-made pottery objects inspired by different types of fruit and vegetables - by their visual appearance, smell, taste and structure, each of them with a very special touch and an individual look.

Martina Hudeckova from the Czech Republic mixes metal clips in the ceramic paste of her ‘Ferro Porcelain’ product series. This extraordinary mixture gives the surface of the mould a specific structure and leaves natural patterns on her dishes.

With his Porcelain Studio, Kyungmin Lee brings geometric patterns and structures into the world of ceramic and, with the aid of plaster, creates objects made of ceramic and porcelain. Thanks to his special technique, the material can move freely and take on individual forms during the firing process. With his works, Lee wants to make the places where people live and work more attractive.

Altogether, 59 Talents from 14 countries are presenting the ideas and works in the ‘Modern Crafts’ and ‘Carat’ segments of Tendence and Ecostyle in Frankfurt am Main.

Information & images by courtesy of Messe Frankfurt Exhbition GmbH

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