Creative concept, direction and design by Folch.
Cover image: Josefina Sierra Guzmán
Artist collaborations: Josefina Sierra Guzmán, Rebecca Scheinberg, Salva Lopez, Marta Vidal, Cecilia Renard, Tais Sirote, Alejandra Jaimes, Yosigo.
Born from a desire to explore artistic fields and expand our perception of the brand, Marset’s new Young Talents initiative fosters meaningful collaborations with emerging creatives. Our aim was to find the right artist, someone who would understand the value of the brand yet bring their personal vision to life, putting their own mark on the product. It was essential for Marset to become an influential reference within a variety of creative fields, beyond lamp design.
We wanted to present Marset’s latest collection through this new lens in time for EuroLuce, an annual lighting exhibition within the framework of Salone del Mobile in Milan. Giving Marset a fresh approach, we communicated some of their key pieces through the eyes of emerging young talents within different artistic fields across the world.
“We gave complete artistic freedom to each artist. This could have been the absolute wrong decision, especially when it comes to introducing a new product, but nowadays taking a risk is the only way to succeed and to survive.”
Rafa Martinez, Communication Director, Folch
Curation was the key. We wanted to find people with a similar aesthetic and mindset to Marset, drawing parallels to their mood, values and visions. It was important to find collaborators who were ready to bend and stretch the potential of any object, bringing it into their own environment and turning any pre-existing perception on its head.
With just one month to coordinate the whole project, we curated 8 artists for 8 different lamp designs and asked each one to create a photo series. The lamps come in a variety of different sizes and complexities, from simple table lamps to compound ceiling devices, meaning seamless production was required, as well as good communication between Folch, Marset and each artist, particularly given they were spread across Europe. The smaller lamps were shipped abroad, while the more complex designs were kept in the Barcelona area. Keeping in close contact with the artists was essential when it came to providing support and advice during shooting preparations.
“This sort of project involves a lot of trust. We put our faith in each artist, they put their faith in us, as does the client. With a completely blank canvas, we had to imagine the final outcome, to be flexible and take risks along the road. This is where authenticity happens.”
Emmy Koski, Communication and Art Director, Folch
Marset is all about a living filled with beauty, happiness and light. We wanted to capture this vision and reflect it through different disciplines – arts, fashion, music, and gastronomy. Beyond branded content, this approach builds brand awareness and connects Marset to new, more aspirational creative disciplines. Through these collaborations, we invite you to appreciate Marset’s designs as objects of beauty beyond their obvious function, to consider them in new environments, abstracted from their purpose, and from a different angle to what you might expect.
Argentinian born, Barcelona based, set designer Josefina Sierra Guzmán evokes the decomposition of the object in her photographic series shot by Dani Pujalte. The object in question, the oversized Bohemia lamp, is a unique new design by Joan Gaspar.
London based photographer and set designer Tais Sirote in collaboration with set designer Philip Bailey took on one of Marset’s more classic, functional designs – the Ledtube. They created surreal and dynamic spaces where the light is just as much the protagonist as its surroundings.
Barcelona based sculptor and artist Alejandra Jaimes expresses herself through the poetic language of mobiles. In this series, she takes on the design of the Milana family by Jaume Ramirez – a design defined by equilibrium through its counterweight, a symphony of tubular structures and lacquered aluminium shades. Like a conductor of light and balance Alejandra gives Milana a new layer of interpretation – a relationship of exchange, and of dependence.
Inspired by the feminine shape, photographer Rebecca Scheinberg created a play of tension between the object and the human body for the Bolita lamp. Using the female form, pressing her soft limbs against the light, Rebecca creates a delicate dialogue between figure and lamp, a beautiful visual balance between movement and stillness, where the intensity of the light seems organic – rather than electronic.
Photographer Yosigo finds his calling in retrospective, a state where his camera captures his surroundings, the geometry, colours and light through a nostalgic lens. In this series for the MVV lamp, he disturbs the lamp as little as possible, instead focusing on the architecture of the object, disassembling its pieces to create a moment of nostalgia and serenity.
Barcelona based photographer Salva Lopez experiments with new territories in this series. Fleeing his typical philosophy of natural beauty, he creates an abstract methacrylate set for the iconic Dipping Light by Jordi Canudas.
The photographer Marta Vidal´s series “Strange Bodies”– a dialogue between two disparate elements. A visual conversation inspired by the spectrum of the Ginger collection by Joan Gaspar, she was driven by a desire to integrate the lamp outside of its context.
The publication for this year’s collection had to have both the artistry of a lookbook, with a visual and aspirational mood, as well as a more technical section where the new models could be properly explained through drawings, with finishing details and specifications. The solution was to create two separate parts, starting with the Young Talent features and ending with the technical aspects of the new collection. The design and layout follow Marset’s graphic identity, using Neue Haas Grotesk by Font Bureau, separating English and Spanish translations with shades of grey and black from the brand’s colour palette.
Designed by Marset’s to-go architect Stefano Colli, the showroom is absolutely key for any fair. We integrated the images from the Young Talents initiative, printing them out in large format to welcome the visitors to the showroom in EuroLuce, Salone del Mobile, and Marset’s new artistic dialogue.
