Artist: Snarkitecture (Daniel Arsham, Alex Mustonen)
Brand: Gufram
Colors: Black, white
Material: Glass, Polyurethane
Dimensions: L 18 cm x D 10 cm x H 30 cm
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Guframini's latest miniaturized piece is the Broken Mirror®, the original version of which was launched in 2017 and designed by Alex Mustonen and Daniel Arsham, the brains of New York studio Snarkitecture.
Broken Mirror® represents a real milestone in Gufram's production: on the one hand, it is the very first piece designed for them by Snarkitecture, one of the most interesting contemporary radical practices; on the other hand, it is the first mirror to enter the Gufram catalog. An object that does not neglect its functional purpose, Broken Mirror® enriches and transforms it, becoming a work of art and going beyond the limits of the correspondence between form and function.
Born from the meeting between the experimental aim of Gufram and Snarkitecture, which studies the boundaries between art and architecture with the same curiosity of the first radical Italian designers, the Broken Mirror® takes the form of a breach in the wall, of a crack that reflects the space around it, but at the same time creates an alienating optical effect, as if the room were open to another dimension.
Snarkitecture ironically played with the idea of ambiguity by relying on the concept of “soft/not soft”; imitate concrete using polyurethane, Gufram’s material par excellence. To achieve the texture of the concrete wall, Gufram's patented special paint, Guflac®, is applied entirely by hand, allowing the polyurethane to retain its elasticity and experience unique aesthetic experiments. Exactly like the Broken Mirror® in real size, the new Guframini piece is made of polyurethane foam, obtaining a unique piece with the same softness, the same colors and the same details of the original size while also keeping its function, since it can be used as a portable mirror.
The new Guframini Broken Mirror® is available in two colors: Black and White.
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Snarkitecture is a New York-based collaborative practice founded by Daniel Arsham and Alex Mustonen.
Snarkitecture's work focuses on designing existing spaces or collaborating with other artists and designers. They aim to reuse or abuse existing architecture to make the architecture perform the unexpected. Arsham and Mustonen met while studying at Cooper Union in New York and established Snarkitecture as a formal practice in 2008.
American artist Daniel Arsham combines sculpture, drawing, architecture and cinema in the design of his works. He imagines futuristic works retracing the history of our present. Thus, he adds crystals to fragments of his works to give them this precious and priceless appearance. Our history and its vestiges are therefore a source of inspiration and richness in his eyes. The materials he uses support his point: sand, selenite and volcanic ash are worked to appear ancient.
Daniel Arsham now carries out numerous partnerships with luxury brands such as the latest collaboration with Dior.
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Gufram is an Italian furniture manufacturer based in Barolo (Piedmont region). Founded in 1966 by the Gugliermetto brothers, Gufram, acronym for "Gugliermetto Fratelli Arredamenti Moderni", takes the form of a creative laboratory: they combine their knowledge of local craftsmanship with emerging architects and artists of the time. Their sculptured art objects revolutionized the aesthetics of 1960s furniture. From 1965, Gufram followed the artistic direction of designer Giuseppe Raimondi, who associated the company with emerging artists and architects of the time.
They study new choices of materials and mainly choose polyurethane foam to pad and structure their sculptural creations. Polyurethane will become their trademark. In addition to mastering the processing of flexible polyurethane, Gufram has developed and patented a special finish: Guflac®, the true essence of the company's artisanal spirit: this special and unique paint job makes surfaces more uniform, consistent and elastic . Soft, elegant shapes are thus created, innovative shapes that would otherwise be impossible to cover.
Gufram icons, regardless of the collection they are part of, are made by sculpting flexible polyurethane foam which is then finished or decorated by hand with the Guflac® backing.
Their creations, in the wake of pop art, are anchored in the avant-garde movement of the 1960s.
In 1968, Gufram presented its products under the name Multipli: industrially reproduced art objects in limited edition. Gufram then enjoyed considerable success with the public and the international press. Among their most remarkable creations: the Bocca sofa, originally designed by Salvador Dali, the Cactus coat rack, the majestic Pratone seat or even more recently the grotesque stools in the shape of a tombstone The End from the Toiletpaper collection, or the Broken Mirror imagined by Snarkitecture.
These “domestic sculptures” now appear in the most beautiful homes and the most renowned museums in the world.
The Gufram company was bought in 2012 by entrepreneur Sandra Vezza and her son Charley as artistic director. They were able to breathe new life into the company, notably on the occasion of the company's 50th anniversary celebrations in 2016 but also with new collaborations such as that with Moschino “Moschino kissed Gufram”.
