[Title] Pigment
[Artist] Naoto Fukasawa
[Date] March 20 – May 20, 2008
Shells crafted in soft forms, floating up into brilliant and colorful space, with products suspended inside those domains. This latest Maison Hermès window, the creation of designer Naoto Fukasawa, relies only on colors and shapes to depict the annual theme for 2008 – “India.”
Fukasawa reports that upon hearing mention of India, springing immediately to mind was the awareness of “pigment.” This is a presence that is indeed essential when discussing the vivid colors that India is renowned for. Describes Fukasawa himself: “That brilliantly colored powder, while being natural in hue, nevertheless contains an extremely synthesized and traditional nuance. The subtle combinations of those colors are simply ‘overly India’ in facade, and cannot be used to portray any other images. It is for the very reason that these colors refuse to reflect light, in fact, that they are able to generate such pronounced sensations of the shades they represent.”
Pigment shades, existing in singular essence without any reflection of light. Mobilized through the use of mixes of intense colors to express the “Colors of India” are shells comprised exclusively of curved lines. To prevent even the realm of colors from being reflected, the outside rises are rendered in the same color as the surrounding backgrounds, while the inside of the shells are covered with separate radiant hues. The inevitable result is a clash between color camps. The shells rising up in the yellow-colored spaces, meanwhile, embrace clothing creations that appear to be afloat in that midst like invisible human beings.
The contrasts between the individual colors, and the disparities between powerful colors and soft form, appear to be planar despite being 3-dimensional, present the presence of flatness despite possessing depth. The organic shell forms, the lighting from behind which causes the shells to be visually suspended in space and other spatial components, all intricately computed down to the very finest of detail, bring forth a truly unique sense of floating.
This space is adrift in a floating sensation born of intense color contrasts, with products suspended in that very dimension. This strange yet wonderful harmony may very well constitute the true expression of “Mesmerizing India.”
Naoto Fukasawa
A renowned product designer, Naoto Fukasawa was born in Japan’s Yamanashi Prefecture in 1956. He graduated from the Product Design Course of Tama Art University in 1980, and went on to open Naoto Fukasawa Design in 2003. He currently designs products for major manufacturers both in Japan and abroad, including many companies in Europe. His achievements include the “MUJI” wall-mounted CD player, the “±” humidifier, the au/KDDI “INFOBAR” mobile phone and other creations. His “neon” mobile phone has been included in the permanent collection of the MoMA in NY. In 2007, he was honored with the title of Royal Designer for Industry (Honorary RDI) from the Royal Society of Arts of Great Britain. He has likewise received more than 50 different prizes for his work over the years, including the Industrial Design Excellence Awards Gold Prize of the United States, the International Forum Design Award from Germany, the D&AD Awards Gold Prize from Britain and numerous other distinctions.