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Salone Milan 2012: A Closer Look at PLZ DNT TCH at SaloneSatellite

By Ray Hu - May 7, 2012

in Furniture Design | Salone Milan | Lighting | Design Festivals

Image courtesy of PLZ DNT TCH

We gave you a sneak peek of PLZ DNT TCH's furniture fair debut at SaloneSatellite about a month ago, and while the studio shots of work certainly piqued our interest, it was a pleasure to meet the trio of young designers who established the collaborative studio in Savannah, GA.Studio PLZ DNT TCH is Bradley Bowers, Alejandro Figueredo and Matt Gray. PLZ DNT TCH is some form of attraction—design is our medium. Our work is a fusion of language, culture, design and playfulness. we use design as a vehicle for improvement and revelation; we invite your curiosity and exploration.

Bowers' "Mona" (at top and bottom) and "Om" vessels: the latter, which is made from cotton, paper and natural latex, explores "expression through form, while staying ephemeral and fragile in an atypical manner."

The tabletop objects sit atop PLZ DNT TCH's "LI" table, a low dining table "designed to arouse curiosity."Its unconventional use of material invites you to discover and explore the structure, the process, and the dialogue among LI's various components. It was made to represent the re-union of Nature and Man: the surface of the table is made from charred planks of wood (Nature), while the leg structure is made from Corian (Man). The use of the piece is dictated by its form and material composition, which allows for a new experience.

Similarly, Matt Gray's "Ante," which is made from brass, cast resin and real antlers, was also inspired by the man-nature dichotomy:ANTE confronts society's obsession with re-presentation. It sanitizes the natural world by fusing it with the precision of the industrial machine. ANTE shifts from a natural to a manufactured world... in an attempt to glorify what always was glorious.

Their booth at Satellite was the first time we saw Bowers' "Shell," a "gentle form [that allows] the user to embrace the concepts of balance and equilibrium through practice," which rests beneath Figueredo's "Ligna," which represents a similar concept of balance and tension in the form of a freestanding lamp.