Share to
Mokuren
By : Naoto Fukasawa x Lladró
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 16th edition
Discipline : Product : Grand Winner
Categories : Product Design in Small Series & Hand-Made / Lighting fixture in small series or hand-made : Platinum Winner
Mokuren by Naoto Fukasawa for Lladró.
Kogei and design inspired by white magnolia: the essence of light that fuses craft tradition and modernism.
Mokuren is the end result of the first collaboration between Lladró and the Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa, whose work is known for its signature combination of craft and design. Tradition and modernity go hand in hand in this new chandelier, just as the purity of the metal lines are seamlessly fused with the delicacy of handcrafted porcelain flowers.
LIGHTING WITH SOUL
Lladró continues exploring different paths in its various product categories: from iconic figurines that speak to the brand’s legacy and capture the sensibility inherent to the art of porcelain, to functional designs in a contemporary style that evince the brand’s mission to carry on revolutionizing the world of handcrafted porcelain.
Especially worth highlighting among its many lighting creations for this new season is the Mokuren chandelier, the end result of a collaboration between Lladró and the Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa, who has always worked in the area straddling craft and design. For this particular work he took his inspiration from the striking beauty of the flowers of the white magnolia, one of the best-loved trees in Japan and a symbol of eternal bonds.
“When I saw the flower and thought of white porcelain, its texture and qualities, the idea came to me immediately,” Fukasawa claims. And this is how Mokuren came into being, a chandelier that couples signature elements of the work of the Japanese artist and of Lladró: nature, craft and design.
The flowers of the magnolia are attributed with meanings like nobility, while their slender exotic forms are believed to be among the most beautiful in nature. All the flowers in the Mokuren chandelier are handcrafted by Lladró’s expert artisans at its workshops in Valencia. The warm glow of LED light filtered through the translucent porcelain of the petals creates an enveloping light which can be regulated in intensity. In contrast, the black-lacquered aluminum structure, at once complex and poetic, represents the branches of the magnolia, one of the Earth’s oldest flowering plants, which has existed for over a hundred million years.
“When you see a magnolia tree in flower, you get the impression that something powerful has suddenly taken place in the natural world,” the designer explains. Fukasawa, for whom the purity of Lladró porcelain and the white of the magnolia flower seem to be connected almost naturally, has tried to capture in Mokuren the ephemeral phenomenon of the tree’s flowering and its unique ability to surprise. “The light of Mokuren accentuates its serene existence when lit. It is a pleasant soothing surprise.”
“I have the feeling that I wish to remain on the kogei (craft) side of things. But when it comes to lighting, it has to be interpreted from the viewpoint of design. Mokuren is a triumph of both. It was the perfect mix.”
Naoto Fukasawa.
Lladró’s lighting collections combine elements of light and the earth to achieve a delicate balance between creativity and artistic innovation and craft technique. Chandeliers as well as tabletop, wall and standing lamps whose impact goes way beyond their lighting function. Customizable and enveloping lighting that makes the most of the exceptional qualities of porcelain.
For seventy years, Lladró has deployed its unparalleled know-how in the field of porcelain in its only factory in the world, in Valencia.
Collaboration
