Italian architect and designer Fabio Novembre has opened IoNoi Gallery, a hybrid retail space and gallery in Milan with “strongly postmodern” interiors designed to showcase his work.
Located on a street corner a few steps from Novembre‘s studio, the shop sells a range of products the designer has created throughout his career for companies including Italian furnituremaker Kartell, lighting brand Lasvit and glassmaker Venini.
Novembre designed the minimalist interior himself, conceiving it as a blank page in an architect’s sketchbook.
This is represented through the grid pattern printed on the store’s white melamine laminate walls, which allows the bold colours and forms in his work to take centre stage.
“The design of the interior is like a blank squared page, the perfect canvas for an architect,” Novembre told Dezeen. “It allows objects to float in space, suspended on a system of interchangeable luminous shelves.”
The displayed items, which straddle the realms of art, design and fashion, are arranged across simple shelving with embedded LED strip lights.
A bright yellow wall that leads to the rear of the store and three yellow display plinths provide accents of colour against the grey stone floor.
In keeping with his other work, Novembre describes his first dedicated concept store as “strongly postmodern”.
The gallery’s name, IoNoi, is derived from an ongoing research project of the same name, conceived by Novembre to explore the relationship between the self and the collective, between objects and their “universe of reference”.
“IoNoi started as a blog in 2008,” Novembre explained. “Its point was that people and things are born from other people and other things. The research of connections, often unplanned and undeclared, helps pave the way for an inclusive and cross-cutting approach to knowledge.”
“Today, the project evolves into IoNoi Gallery, a physical space that contains and exhibits my world made of industrial objects and art design in the continuous link between design, architecture, art and fashion.”
The store will double up as a venue for hosting exhibitions, research projects and collaborations.
Novembre also hinted that he is working on more ceramic products following his recent work for Italian porcelain brand Villari.
“I find it interesting to continue with the formal experimentation on porcelain, carrying on the tradition of Italian design masters such as [Ettore] Sottsass and [Alessandro] Mendini – my maestros,” he said.
Novembre’s wide-ranging portfolio includes a number of other architecture and interior projects. Among them are the headquarters of football club AC Milan and a house on a man-made island in Abu Dhabi that is wrapped around a reflecting pool.
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