 VARIATIONS
ON A THEME
The search for a link between tradition and modernity; forewords
by Luca Scacchetti.
The area around the Veneto town of Bassano is one of the most
dynamic in Italy,largelythanks to its thriving furniture industry,
Many companies of varying size - from large scale industries to
small craft businesses -continue the long standing tradition of
cabinet making.
They are regularly the focus of economic studies by Italian and
foreign analysts fascinated by this geographical district which
has succeeded in combining industrial-type production with traditional
craft skills.
This almost magical association of advanced technology and craftsmanship
-the latter going back to pre-indus trial times -has made the
Bassano district one of the most important furniture making areas
in Italy, internationally acclaimed for its quality products and
renowned for its flexibility compared to other more 'rationalised'
production areas abroad.
This dual character is worn easily, without strife and makes the
area of Bassano one
of the most receptive to innovative research and the blending
of new and tradition methods of design and production. The exhibition
of the art of the Bassano furniture-maker within the framework
of Abitare il Tempo 2002, Verona (Italy), intended to convey all
this and more: how current production capability and classic traditional
styles characteristic of the area combine with an openness to
untried contemporary ideas, how this mix of craftsmanship and
industry is ready to take on modern projects with prospects of
new markets. Sponsored by the Consorzio del Mobile d'Arte Bassanese,
the exhibition displayed the work of eight prestigious furniture
manufacturers, which in addition
to their classic period furniture production, are enthusiastic
supporters or designers as diverse as Michele Anderlini, Mark
Anderson, Cinzia Anguissola d'Altoè, Patrizia Bertolini,
Aldo Petillo, Franco Poli, Franco Raggi, Luca Scacchetti.
The new and the traditional combine to produce excellence and
a system which, albeit over the long-term, leads to a wider product
range and new markets. The exhibition
opened with a series of models and templates of period furniture
in acknowledgement of the fact that it all started with traditional
cabinet making.
This 'forest of shadows and memories' leaded into an area where
period furniture and contemporary prototypes were displayed side
by side under alternating lights to underline the continual back-and-forth
and inter-change that exist between tradition and modernity. In
the centre, a large back-Iit canvas projects a series of images
of different assemblies of craft and industrial creations and
their workshop environments, again highlighting the continuity
and single thread that runs from classical to contemporary design.
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