Colours, bright lines and their connections with architecture and urban environments have been the main themes of recent posts. Yet coloured lines can work pretty well also in a smaller and more private environment such as a private house rather than a public space.
A great example of this principle is represented by the "Locus Solus" pool side collection, originally created by the late Italian designer Gae Aulenti in 1964 for Centro Studi Poltronova.
Including loungers, tables and chairs, "Locus Solus" was considered as a uniquely original and irreverent collection of pieces: the designs were indeed made using a steel tubular framework (a reference to Aulenti's iconic curved wooden chair designs) varnished in vivid colours and decorated with handmade cushions characterized by vividly bright and lively prints with a Pop Art edge.
Fans of stylish films will immediately make the connection and remember how Gae Aulenti's table and chairs from this collection appeared in Jacques Deray's 1969 French film La Piscine (The Swimming Pool).
The movie revolved around lovers Marianne (Romy Schneider) and Jean-Paul (Alain Delon) spending their vacation in a villa with a large swimming pool, located near Saint-Tropez. Their quiet holiday is radically transformed by the arrival of Marianne's former lover Harry (Maurice Ronet) and his teenage daughter Pénélope (Jane Birkin).
The swimming pool mentioned in the title is obviously one of the main architectural protagonists, but so is Gae Aulenti's set of garden furniture.
The yellow table and chairs sit in a corner of the garden, providing the main characters with a space (that they at times co-ordinate with their clothes, as proved by the screenshot posted above) where they chat, relax, have their breakfast, or simply plot revenge. In a nutshell, the pieces of furniture are not just a symbol of their outdoor lifestyle, but they are a sort of theatrical stage where the drama unravels.
After being relaunched by Exteta in collaboration with Archivio Aulenti at Milan's Salone del Mobile in April, the pieces of furniture will reappear this week not in Saint-Tropez, but in Cannes.
Exteta has indeed been chosen to decorate the outdoor spaces of the Cannes Yachting Festival (from tomorrow till 11th September). The Palais VIP Restaurant setting will therefore feature the irreverence of the "Locus Solus" collection. Among the pieces included there will also be Aulenti's Sun Lounger.
Yes, vacations may be over, but iconic design pieces with a timeless mood can provide an inspiration throughout the year with their materials, shapes and decorative patterns.
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