Bless

Mathew Gallery in collaboration with Pin-Up Magazine and Artek is pleased to invite you to a presentation of N°60 Lobby Conquerors by Bless. Finnish furniture company Artek and Berlin/Paris based Bless have joined forces to create Bless N°60 Lobby Conquerors, originally commissioned for the Chicago Architecture Biennial.

Bless N°60 Lobby Conquerors is related to the Bless N°07 Livingroom Conquerors (1998), a series of options for dressing and shape-refining existing furniture for private use. With Lobby Conquerors, these ideas expand into the public realm.

Through garments and fragmented architectural add-ons, Artek's iconic Kiki Lounge Chairs, designed by Finnish Master Ilmari Tapiovaara in 1960, are transformed into small architurniture units. Meanwhile Tapiovaara's Lukki stools (1954) appear dressed-up in hairy costumes that seem to occupy the seating objects, challenging and inviting the visi-tors to take a seat. A number of Tapiovaara's classic Kiki Benches complement the space, welcoming the visitors to sit down and become a decorative subject themselves, celebrating a tentative appointment in the Here & Now.

Artek was founded in Helsinki in 1935 by four young idealists: Alvar and Aino Aalto, Maire Gullichsen, and Nils-Gustav Hahl. Their goal was "to sell furniture and to promote a modern culture of living by exhibitions and other educational means."

In keeping with the radical spirit of its founders, Artek today remains an innovative player in the world of modern design, developing new products at the intersection of design, architecture, and art. The Artek collection consists of furniture, lighting, and accessories designed by Finnish masters and leading international designers. It stands for clar- ity, functionality, and poetic simplicity.

Founded in 1997 by Desiree Heiss and Ines Kaag, Paris and Berlin-based Bless is best described as a platform of cre- ation. Bless create products and situations that connect people to their surroundings and atmospheres in the celebra- tion of Jetztzeit, treating the restless now. Their works span over fashion, visual arts, sports, design, social activities and architecture.

Bless has exhibited at prestigious institutions worldwide including Centre George Pompidou in Paris, Villa Noailles in Hyères, Boijmans Museum in Rotterdam, MoMA in Tokyo and Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein.