Studio Minale-Maeda | Garlands

The unique qualities of the Divina fabric were so striking to Kuniko Maeda and Mario Minale, the founders of Studio Minale-Maeda, that they chose to work with the material purely on its own, developing a series of garlands.

“The smooth non-woven-like surface, its strong colours, its crispness, and the fact that its edges do not fray when cut all reminded us more of paper than fabric. Yet, the material has more presence and quality than paper,” they comment.

The garlands celebrate the strength of the material by exploring the levels of scale and complexity that become possible when working with fabric instead of paper. Using flowers as a point of inspiration, they were able to develop playful shapes with the material, and use the variety of strong colours to create the final installation of four vertical garlands.

Studio Minale-Maeda was founded by Design Academy Eindhoven master graduates Kuniko Maeda and Mario Minale in 2006 in Rotterdam.

Their work lies at the fault lines of the multiple, seemingly opposite realities of a globalized, post-industrial world, like local and global, craftsmanship and technology, one-off and mass production, appearance and substance, utilitarian and eclectic, real and virtual. Their approach towards their projects is characterized by extensive research, meticulous attention to detail and materials and the intercultural perspective granted by their background. Their work is featured in international publications, exhibitions, galleries and museum collections.