By Olga Bozhko
From June 22, 2020, the Friedman Benda New York Gallery will present the first American exhibition of the French-Danish duo OrtaMiklos . OrtaMiklos: 6 Acts of Confinement. The works are divided into 6 separate scenes, representing a different emotional reaction to current events in the world associated with a pandemic, quarantine and an acute sense of uncertainty.
Designers comment on the idea of the exhibition as follows: “At the time of self-isolation, the mind is looking for opportunities for escapism, it avoids a conflict situation. Perhaps a reaction to a forced stop will be forms that seem unknown to us. In the same way, our future seems uncertain and amorphous in moments of uncertainty. ”
The OrtaMiklos duet is Leo Orta (born 1993 in Paris) and Victor Miklos Andersen (born 1993, in Kalundborg), who created the OrtaMiklos association in 2015 during their studies at the Eindhoven Design Academy. From the very beginning of their research, they were interested in natural processes and the search for those places where these processes are most pronounced – for example, they are interested in the process of coral formation. Their goal is to go beyond the generally accepted, to create new models of the norm. The duo’s works were exhibited in various international museums: in the Florentine Museo Marino Marini (2018), in the Ghent Museum of Design. Now the studio has two workshops: one is located in Eindhoven, the other in the town of Les Moulins in France.
OrtaMiklos organic items are usually composed of many materials. To achieve effects similar to natural formations, designers use a multi-stage technique in which metal mesh, steel, wood, cellulose, paint, varnish and lighting fixtures are involved . Or it can be a combination of expanded polystyrene, steel, fiberglass and polyester.
