Berlin-based pop-up gallery Helmrinderknecht’s temporary exhibition, “Edition 21/Zürich,” features new works by German product designer Judith Seng and Swiss artist Moritz Schmid that exist at the intersection of art and design. Curated by Petra Helm and Martin Rinderknecht, the limited-edition retrospective is located in a former office space lobby in the heart of downtown Zürich. “The works of both Seng and Schmid are independent from any function,” says Helm. “The beauty of their work stands alone.”

Moritz Schmid, “Les Belles,” 2012.

Seng studied product and process design at Berlin’s University of the Arts while working for Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec before opening her own studio in 2005. Her eclectic body of work ranges from graphic design to furniture and has been shown at Art Centre Seoul, Caroussel du Louvre Paris, MOMA in Berlin, and the Tokyo Art Museum, and her series “Trift,” on display at the pop-up gallery, is a good example of her personal design approach. Comprised of six colorfully lacquered wooden objects that can serve as either a stool or a table, their form and size represent the tree log from which they were originally cut. The top of each object is saturated with high-gloss prismatic paints while the bottom half remains unfinished gradient wood—and the sharply cut surfaces of each piece juxtapose the rough structure of the wooden block in an evenhanded unity.

Interior view of the exhibition, facing the street.

With “Les Belles,” Moritz Schmid has broken away from his customary industrial work to explore a more imaginative craft. Schmid, whose work for Atelier Pfister won him the 2010 Swiss Federal Design Award, has worked in furniture and tableware before, and “Les Belles,” follows this tradition. It’s a collection of three pieces, constructed from lathed pear-tree wood and screen-printed natural linen, and their quirky, colorful forms serve less of a utilitarian purpose and more like artistic relics. “Unwittingly, one asks what these objects could be: an umbrella, a kind of walking stick, or perhaps a large bird,” Helm says. The pieces originated from Schmid’s desire to create something that bridges intricate design and natural materials. According to Helm, the collection “leaves the idea of functionality completely behind.”

The exhibition is on view until February 25.

Title image: Judith Seng, “Trift.” Photos by Steven James Scott.
Helmrinderknecht