AVALON
DESIGNED BY MAURO LIPPARINI
TECHNOLOGY AND ART FUSE SEAMLESSLY TO PRODUCE AVALON’S STRIKING DESIGN. MIGHTY SLABS OF IRON ARE CONTOURED BY MEANS OF SEGMENTED PLANE GEOMETRY, WITH CONCAVE AND CONVEX CURVILINEAR FORMS AND A SEQUENCE OF BOLDLY DOVETAILED GESTURES THAT DEFINE THE TABLE’S BASE. THIS IS A PREMIER EXAMPLE OF A MINIMALIST STRUCTURE REINFORCED BY THE POWER OF ITS MATERIALS—THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE BODY’S NATURAL IRON AND THE PRIMEVAL EXPRESSIVITY OF THE ANNEALED GLASS TOP. AVALON’S AUSTERE FORMALISM IS CONTRASTED WITH THE DYNAMISM OF THE BASE, WHILE THE GLASS DISC SURFACE, EVOKING A MIRRORED, SOFTLY RIPPLING POOL, TRANSPORTS US TO AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL DREAMSCAPE. ROXY MUSIC’S LAST AND GREATEST ALBUM, AVALON, IS A TOUCHSTONE OF THE 1980S. EVEN AS ITS NAMESAKE TABLE EXPRESSES A SIGNATURE ’80S BRAND OF BOLDNESS, IT SPEAKS AS WELL TO MORE ANCIENT FOLKLORE AND MYTH—THE LEGENDARY ISLAND OF AVALON, WHERE KING ARTHUR’S FABLED SWORD, EXCALIBUR, WAS FORGED—IN PARTICULAR THROUGH THE TABLETOP’S PACIFIC BLUE FINISH. BELOW AVALON’S OTHERWORLDLY DISC OF ANNEALED GLASS, THE POWERFUL METAL BASE WINDS LIKE A WELLING TIDE WITH ELEGANCE AND ÉLAN.
MAURO LIPPARINI
MAURO LIPPARINI GRADUATED IN 1980 FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORENCE’S DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE WHERE HE HAS ALSO BEEN A FACULTY MEMBER. A LEADER AND INNOVATOR IN THE STYLE THAT HAS BEEN CALLED “NATURAL MINIMALISM”, LIPPARINI IS A WINNER OF THE YOUNG & DESIGN MILANO (ITALY 1987) AND INTERNATIONAL DU PONT AWARD KÖLN (GERMANY 1988 AND 1989) INTERNATIONAL DESIGN COMPETITIONS. LIPPARINI’S EXTENSIVE WORK IN THE FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN INCLUDES HOME AND OFFICE FURNISHINGS, TEXTILES, AND OTHER PRODUCTS CREATED FOR A HOST OF RENOWNED EUROPEAN AND JAPANESE FIRMS. IN THE REALMS OF ARCHITECTURE AND INTERIOR DESIGN, LIPPARINI HAS CONCENTRATED PRIMARILY ON PRIVATE AND PUBLIC HOUSING, RETAIL AND WHOLESALE SHOWROOMS, AND EXPOSITION INSTALLATIONS. LIPPARINI ALSO PROVIDES CUTTING-EDGE CORPORATE IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION SERVICES INCLUDING GRAPHIC DESIGN, EDITORIAL, FULLSCALE PRODUCTION, AND PRODUCT APPLICATION. LIPPARINI’S STYLE, ROOTED IN THE SPARE FORMS AND CLEAR, POWERFUL LINES THAT ARE THE HALLMARKS OF MINIMALISM, IS IMBUED WITH A SPIRIT OF JOY, A BUOYANT SENSE OF PLEASURE AND POSSIBILITY. FREELY EMPLOYING BOLD COLORS, ORGANIC TEXTURES, IMAGINATIVE VISUAL CONCEPTS, LIPPARINI BROADENS THE PALETTE OF MINIMALISM, CONVEYING THE IMMEDIACY AND STRENGTH OF THE AESTHETIC INTO A NEW ERA.
