M.A.H presents: Prototypes with dellostudio

During the London Design Festival, Modern Art Hire launched Prototypes, a series of one-off furniture pieces designed by dellostudio.

For many stylists and photographers, licensing art and sculptures to feature in shoots is a real hassle. Not only can finding the copyright holder prove difficult, displaying artworks – however much in the background – can be prohibitively expensive.

That’s why interior stylist Laura Fulmine launched M.A.H, a London based gallery that provides a curated selection of licensed fine art for temporary use in photography, film, offices and interior projects.

With an ever-growing roster of artists, M.A.H makes it easy to add depth to interiors through contemporary art, and with a minimum loan of a week, removes all the logistical stress. What’s more, it offers artists an extra way to make money from their work – a revenue stream currently not open to creatives.

Galleries aren’t focused on hiring – only selling. All artists need a helping hand and as much representation as possible.” - Laura Fulmine, M.A.H interior stylist and creative director

For London Design Festival 2019, M.A.H stepped up its usual offer by commissioning brand new work for the very first time. Turning to the imaginative eye and playful hand of dellostudio, a London and Paris-based duo founded by designers and artists Oscar Piccolo and Charlotte Taylor. With a practice that intersects art, architecture and design, the pair happily switch between everything from set design to interiors, with a portfolio that includes skate parks, a pop-up retail space for Paloma Wool at Liberty London and at Galeries Lafayette in Paris, plus a new range of vases due to launch in Verona.

Inspired by sources as disparate as Greek and Roman architecture and cartoon series The Flintstones, the duo have created five types of furniture for the collection, including a dining table, four different chairs, a coffee table, a screen and a shelving unit. Each of the pieces are modelled around organic abstract shapes that have been cut out of screens and table tops, balanced on shelves and used to form the seat of chairs. It’s a playful and characterful collection that’s not afraid to have fun.

With Oscar based in London and Charlotte in Paris, the pair often start working on projects digitally, swapping sketches between one another and creating work iteratively. This project was no different. The pair designed the screen first, before translating the design language to other functions and furniture, which then informed the chairs and so on. At the heart of their work is the individual sculptural quality, alongside the sheer functionality of each structure. The Prototypes collection can be adapted and made in a host of different materials – from marble to resin, variety is at the core of dellostudio’s work. Their project with M.A.H reflects the duo’s interdisciplinary approach to avoid being defined by a particular field:

We don’t like to set boundaries or pre-sets on what we do. We’re based on the idea of working collaboratively. That’s why we switch between interior design to set design, retail, skate parks, fish tanks, architecture and more. – Oscar Piccolo, founder of dellostudio

For LDF, M.A.H’s bricks and mortar space on Vyner Street will exhibit dellostudio’s Prototypes collection, alongside a host of new commissioned pieces by various different artists – with the majority of them made bespoke for the occasion. These include, sculptural ceramics by Simone Bodmer-Turner, Ateme Ceramics, Atelier Armand, Kristiina Haataja, Naomi Bikis and Spencer Walton. Plus, multi-coloured woven vases by Charles-Antoine Chappuis. Experimental glass sculptures by Morgan Stockton, paintings by Studio Earle and Laurie Maun. Intricate marquetry by Chelsea Vivash, and one off sculptural pieces by Eabha Ebrill and Bence Magyarlaki.

Learn more about Modern Art Hire & dellostudio

M.A.H presents: Prototypes with dellostudio, until 4 October 2019 by appointment only. Opening hours: 10am—7pm 2b Vyner Street, London E2 9DG