Pforzheim University Graduates at Fuorisalone 2017

Body & Soul shows works that explore and propose various facets of giving substance to form in dialog with the body. In Substanz (substance in German) Annika Heilmann confronts us with unexpected characteristics of seemingly familiar materials and thus reintroduces us to how we sit and how we relate to structural surfaces. She cajoles unexpected elasticity from steel and elicits a textile personality from stone-based Corian.
 
In Readymade – nomen est omen Claudia Frisch’s thorough research into the history of readymades leads her to approach the relationship of form, material and wearer such that the essence of her jewelry pieces is created at the point of wearing them. The abstraction of the original form taken out of context occurs through the act of wearing is related to the specific choice of material, defining the aesthetic language of each jewelry piece.
 
Marc Limper’s work is a search for essence as a designer and in the relationship between designer and user. Chronüp, in his words „...the term for the search of the question which is already answered through creating – in which direction working needs to go in order to not lead nowhere and exist only for its own sake“, proposes the beginning of a developing alphabet of forms, straddling the field between digital possibilities and analog methods. The user is incorporated in the process – both in making „things“ from the parts as well as modifying and further developing them from an open source platform.
 
The relationship between form and body takes a different route in Axiom, Marlen Albrecht’s exploration of design axioms in search of developing her own. A playful delineation of the body in space leads to a series of forms that satisfy the elementary function of sitting and also find their way onto the body again. Form follows function follows nature shows the intrinsic role of the body as common denominator and differentiator between object and jewelry.
 
In comparing the cyclical nature of nature and design, Roxanne Flick’s tea set Purpur speaks to us on an animalistic as well as abstract level. Specific details, sensitivity to materials, color and excellent craftsmanship bring a depth of expression elevating the basic abstract forms. She is interested in the immaterial connection we establish with inanimate objects, amplifying their role in our daily rituals beyond the pragmatic functional.
 
The exploration of the relationship between function and poetry forms the basis of the semester project TableStories, in cooperation with WMF Professional and Hepp, partners in proHeq Professional Hotel Equipment. 14 students of various semesters explored the fertile ground between knife, spoon and fork as forms relating to the specific human ritual of eating and the parameters within the culinary industry.

Cutlery - as forms on the table, framing the courses of food to come, and as tactile volumes in one‘s hand, playing with balance and feel, weight and lightness, hand and mouth tells stories. Whether celebrating relationships between taste and feel or exploring formal connections, these stories add depth to our experience and those which hotels and restaurants seek to create.