As interior design trends continue to shift from stark minimalist aesthetics to spaces with more warmth and character, On: Design looks at some products that can bring new life to bare walls.
Kyoji, a collective of 10 craft companies ranging from daruma doll and textile makers to metalsmiths and jewelers, aims to highlight the versatility and precision of Japanese artisanship with contemporary products. The initiative’s newest lineup, Ma_do Fragments Wall Art, however, celebrates the artisans’ materials and techniques with an unusual use of off-cuts, experimental samples and other small objects selected from factories and workshops.
Ma_do — a play on the Japanese word “mado” for “window” — is a series of glassless, stainless steel box frames designed by Katsuyama Motonori and made by metalworkers Sasage Kogyo. For the Fragments Wall Art collection, each circular, square or triangular frame features an item from one of Kyoji’s 10 collaborating companies. It’s a meticulously curated series that involved factory visits and discussions with artisans to decide which objects embody their skilled craftsmanship. Though at first glance they may seem ordinary, the final selection, which includes wood box parts, swatches of textiles and metal offcuts, are transformed by the frames into unusual, abstract artworks.