Since June 14th 2014 the Basel metropolitan region has been one contemporary design institution richer: the Pulpo Galerie in Lörrach.
Run by the contemporary lighting and accessory manufacturer Pulpo in the Pulpo HQ, the Pulpo Galerie is part Pulpo Galerie, part Pulpo showroom, part Pulpo office, part Pulpo newsagent, part informal Pulpo Café.
But principally Pulpo Galerie.
The inaugural exhibition, Space, presents recent works by painter Daniel Richter, sculptor Tobias Rehberger and the Basel based artist/illustrator/graphic designer Christoph Göttel, including a series of seven prints commissioned by Pulpo from Christoph Göttel; prints which represent the company's first, tentative, steps into art.
And a fairly logical extension of the Pulpo portfolio.
Established in 2006 by Ursula & Patrick L’hoste, Pulpo have quickly grown to an established name in the contemporary European design market and have equally quickly established a highly impressive roster of designers including Samuel Treindl, e27 Berlin, Sebastian Herkner and Peter Raacke. Pulpo are also one of those young companies that have helped transform the annual IMM Cologne trade fair from a tortuous couple of January days into something almost worth looking forward to.
That Pulpo have hit a nerve with their easy, almost logical, mix of traditional handicraft and contemporary rapid production technology can probably be best seen 9 kilometres down the road from the Pulpo Galerie at the VitraHaus where Pulpo objects, including the Container Vase and Oda lamp by Sebastian Herkner, can be found sitting easily amongst Vitra classics old and new. And believe us, you don't get your products shown in the VitraHaus just because you happen to have the correct postcode.......
From their beginnings with exclusively sheet metal products Pulpo have laterally expanded to include glass and in the future plan to expand their range of materials to include wood, plastic, ceramics and sandstone.
A development that can be observed and followed in "Space" where in addition to the presented artworks prototypes of future Pulpo products, and experimental objects that interest Ursula & Patrick L’hoste, can be viewed; an openness which is just one of those things that separates so many of the new designer furniture/lighting/accessory manufacturers from their more traditional counterparts. We know of no established manufacturer who would so freely admit that they were in contact with a certain designer, far less present and discuss a product ahead of a formal launch.
And with such freshness comes a certain affability.
When Ursula & Patrick L’hoste transformed their former music school into Pulpo Galerie they removed all the plaster from the wall to expose the natural stone. What initially sounds as if it could be a little clichéd, works very well, not only because the rougher texture distracts from the exhibition and so helps create a more informal atmosphere, less clinical if you will than your average gallery, but small colour moments in the walls beautifully compliment the displayed works.
It is also a delightful pre-industrial space for Pulpo's, essentially, post-industrial collection and an equally delightful environment for presenting Space, an exhibition which for us works on account of the almost effortless way the selected works of art and prototypes/products supplement and extend one another. At times there appears to be an almost borderless transfer between objects, and that despite the lack of any obvious connections.
All in all a very enjoyable première.
Whereas Space is essentially an art exhibition with a side serving of design objects, the plan is to have more design focussed shows in the future. As soon as we have concrete details we will let you know.
But for the time being, the opening of Pulpo Galerie means that in and around Basel one can currently enjoy, in addition to Space, Fritz Haller. Architect and Researcher at the Swiss Architecture Museum Basel, Konstantin Grcic - Panorama at the Vitra Design Museum, Álvaro Siza – Visions of the Alhambra at the Vitra Design Museum Gallery, Craft & Bling Bling – Fake at Depot Basel and round it all off with a go on the Vitra Slide Tower.
Which is, as far as we are aware, the most intense, varied and above all entertaining architecture and design exhibition programme currently available anywhere in Europe.
And as if all that wasn't enough for one summer, on Saturday July 19th Billy Bragg plays Lörrach.........
Full details of Pulpo Galerie an be found at www.pulpo-galerie.com
