| BALERI ITALIA / MILAN INTERNATIONAL FURNITURE FAIR 2006 |
Baleri Italia was founded in 1984 as a manufacturer of quality forniture with a high design content by Enrico Baleri, a creative and cultured entrepreneur. It was a natural evolution of his activity of research and development in the design area, starter at the end of the '60s, inspired by Dino Gavina and continued by creating the design studio Pluri, and at the end of the '70s by participating in the founding of Alias.
The path towards a personal interpretation of the design process led to the creation of Baleri Italia, a company that since the beginning developed products with strong formal and functional qualities with the support of an innovative Research Department and a constant activity of talent-scouting. That activity brought to the discovery of new talents, the first being a young Philippe Starck, and added to the continuous technological experimentation that made Baleri Italia an innovator in materials and manufacturing techniques and product solutions.
The design and manufacturing process is always ruled by the company's philosophy that sets Man and his environment at the centre of the project and by the high technical qualities of the products that make them timeless objects, suitable for a multitude of environments.
Heir to a great project tradition, Baleri Italia designs and manufactures contemporary forniture, always in the formal and functional forefront of the design world. Innovation and versatility of use make the collection suitable to the residential as well as the contract market, always respecting the wide variety of contexts of use and applications that make up our market without imposing a total-look on the final customer.
At the International Furniture Fair 2006 Baleri Italia presents new pieces designed by Arik Lévy, Jeff Miller, Bruno Rainaldi, Roel Vandebeek and the team eb&c.
Inspired by an impossible origami, the faceted planes of the Folded, by Arik Lévy, create a nuanced surface. At once complex and simple, the reflections of Folded simultaneously make the surface appear and disappear, enhancing and erasing the notions of the tabletop. It has no beginning and no end.
A slice of infinity, the Sam table, always by Arik Lévy, appears to extend past its base. Hovering on its legs, Sam invites convivial lightness and breath, while offering stability and strength. Contemporary, friendly, and immaculate, is a table to live with.
Bigbend table, by the American designer Jeff Miller, blurs the familiar roles of structure and surface. The big bent planes that form the sides incorporate the positions of legs, while deftly avoiding the actual legs of seated people. The three panels, otherwise weak on their own, make a strong and hollow beam when fastened together. Structure, surface and function all combine, in one homogenous material, creating the gesture of an arch – sculptural in form but light, planar and open.
Littlebig, designed by Jeff Miller, is a chair of standard size set within a lager provides the best of both worlds. The delineation of a highback lends a regal air without becoming unwieldy. A glance below reveals that the seat is cantilevered entirely from the front edge of the frame like a strong shelf bracket. The plywood seat is molded using a 3D bending technology which allows for its unique extended sides. The highback is then free to hover away from the seatback, further emphasizing its visual role and providing some other functional ones: a handle for easy maneuvering, and an unencumbered valet for ones dinner jacket.
Plato, always by Jeff Miller, is a white Carrara marble sidetable. It becomes a seat, a red felt pad is included, and a container and as such can be stacked in compositions. Derives from the inverse approach to the construction of an open box, at once, both airy and massive. Sculpting a hollow from a solid rather than fabricating from 4 sides imbues the overall form with a more elemental, integral and indeed sculptural resolution. It is as much about the negative space, the material that is missing, and the effort required to extract it, as the resulting material left visible, tangible and useful. Functionally, there are two surfaces of useful proportion to both contain and serve. The previously weight block is now light enough to maneuver.
Doragon fabric is the protagonist. It comes from the East. Doragon, clouds, amazing animals coming and going, mimicked in the absolute monochromatism. And monochromatic is the body smooth to the touch, excellent in its stillness. We are talking about Modè, a family of cabinets by Bruno Rainaldi, that with the Ptolomeo Bookcase, won the ADI Compasso d'Oro Award.
The VDB table, by Roel Vandebeek + eb&c, is build out of an aluminium frame. The pushed fingers in the sides can easily carry the table top in glass. This doesn't change the archetype, it only adds a refined shape. These fingers form a simple decoration with a constructive sense. When the light plays with the glass and the fingers, a very poetic image arises: serene, fascinating and renewing.
Baleri Italia
Via Tonale, 19
24061 Albano S. Alessandro - Bergamo - Italy
Tel. +39 035 584811
Fax +39 035 584899
www.baleri-italia.it
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