Appeal for fire in Paris by Duende Studio and François Bauchet

Is it possible to be impartial about the primal fascination and heat of a fire in Paris in 2010? Is it possible that this symbol of man’s first step towards civilisation will be authorised to return to our towns? When the time is approaching for the inevitable news reports lamenting, like every year, the homeless facing death from the winter nights, Duende Studio and François Bauchet join forces to propose an urban fireplace conceived to offer fire to Parisians with maximum security. New furniture for the city, the funding for the prototype is now open to co-production: we are appealing to anyone interested in this project to participate via a financial pledge in order to raise the 10,000 Euros necessary for the manufacture of the prototype.

‘Domestic Ponds’ by Duende Studio with Mathieu Lehanneur, Benjamin Graindorge and Eric Jourdan at the Galerie BSL

With “Domestic Ponds” at the galerie BSL, Duende Studio ends its cycle of research about domestic water features which began in 2008 with “Local River” in tandem with Mathieu Lehanneur. This cycle is the most vernacular part of a wider fascination for living objects in a literal sense, that is objects which use or manipulate  living organisms, of which the exhibition “Eden ADN, genetic design” lay the basis in 2006 at the St Etienne Biennial.  The aquarium, connected here to a purifying garden, is both the perfect metaphor of our human condition stuck in a frighteningly finite world and an object paradoxically judged as very has been, reserved for aficionados of aquatic maintenance. With these three new pieces conceived with Mathieu Lehanneur, Benjamin Graindorge and Eric Jourdan, “Domestic Ponds” therefore proposes a new aesthetic, practical and metaphorical vision of the aquarium from 17th September to 27th November 2010 at the galerie BSL.

‘Domestic Ponds’ by Duende Studio with Mathieu Lehanneur, Benjamin Graindorge and Eric Jourdan

At Galerie BSL from 17th September to 27th November 2010, Duende Studio is proposing ‘Domestic Ponds,’ a piece of work about the pond as a domestic water point, with three new pieces by Mathieu Lehanneur, Benjamin Graindorge and Eric Jourdan. ‘A liquid hollow, a matrix swarming with life, the pond is a true open air breeding spot, the antithesis of a vase or an aquarium’ for Anthony van den Bossche / Duende Studio. ‘The water, overflowing with nutrients, drawn from the bottom of the garden, irrigates as well as fertilises the vegetable garden.’ This practice is pushed to its limit with aquaponic agriculture allowing the symbiosis of fish and plants. The plants are nourished by the fish water full of nitrate-rich waste. The plants therefore play the role of natural filter by retaining the nitrates and assist in maintaining balanced water for the fish.

Chic Dessin, a new fair for contemporary drawings

From Friday 26 to Monday 29 March 2010, Chic Dessin will go on its maiden run in 700 m2 at 60 rue de Richelieu, Paris 1, right next door to the Salon du Dessin Ancien.  As the contemporary arm and partner of the well-known event, Chic Dessin will bring together 20 galleries showing works by their artists in solo presentation or project exhibition mode. Following on from the success of Slick, this new initiative by Cécile Griesmar and Sandrine Bisognin marks another innovation:  instead of the classic trade fair format with its stands and neon-glare atmosphere, the organizers are proposing an alternative that is more a relaxed, intimate browse that guarantees close relationship with contemporary drawings and design pieces.

« Local River » and « Floating Garden » at « Dessiner le design »

Thanks to Constance Rubini, commissioner of the exhibition ‘Dessiner le design’ (Draw the design) at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, ‘Local River’ by Mathieu Lehanneur and ‘Floating Garden’ by Benjamin Graindorge are together at last. The projects are in tandem and both were designed with Anthony van den Bossche/Duende Studio, but slip-ups in programming made their launch dates separate, so such so that some people thought that one project was a copy of the other. The mistake is now rectified.

« Floating Garden » at the Cité du Design – St Etienne

“Floating Garden” by Benjamin Graindorge & Duende Studio wil be on show in the brand new Cité du Design in St Etienne (France) in the “Objet de design” exhibition curated by Sismo. New pics by Felipe Ribon for Floating Garden are now available.

‘Floating Garden’ by Benjamin Graindorge & Duende Studio at Forum Diffusion

The fish tank is a microcosm that reflects human concerns: within the finite space of its architecture the main issue that conditions the well-being of its inhabitants is waste management. ‘Floating Garden’ by Benjamin Graindorge and Duende Studio brings an innovative solution to the daily maintenance constraints of freshwater aquariums with a filtering system that is 100% natural: a cushion of sand + plants that adapts to each and every model. Its recycling principle based on hydroponics does away with the chore of regular water changes and proposes a new domestic- scale typology, between the decorative glass vase and the water purifying plant.

Photos credits : Ribon

“La part des Anges” / Duende collective

with Benjamin Graindorge, Eric jourdan, Gaëlle Gabillet, François Bauchet, Orh, Frédéric Ruyant, Cécile Fricker, Machin & Machin, Franck Magne, Oncle John, Grégoire Talon et Noë Noviant.

Mother and child. From conception to the post-natal period, the life-giving links in feeding between this primeval pair develop in two successive stages. First, the production of a shared temporary organ, the placenta, which is like a modem that connects the two bodies for feeding purposes during the 9 months of gestation. Second, the production of mother’s milk, which extends the link after parturition in a relationship that is almost cannibal: the baby feeding on the mother, for the survival of both. Commissioned by La Cuisine to reflect on the theme of ‘eating together’, Duende collective  proposes a range of objects that re-evaluates the earliest human feeding habits which are intra uterine before becoming extra uterine.