Patricia Findlay
Design Miami/ 2016

NO SEX in Miami is the current episode of Atelier Biagetti’s exploration of contemporary life and goes deep into the human psyche to address the all-time greatest obsession: the idea of sex.
Shown during Milan Design Week 2016 in its first guise curated by Maria Cristina Didero, the project demonstrates how designers Alberto Biagetti and Laura Baldassari decontextualize visual elements to create a short-circuit between the senses of the body, the preconceptions of the mind and the physical reality of the surrounding environment to create unexpected situations to be experienced rather than viewed. “We aim to design objects that catalyze actions around them – to provoke life,” the designers say, a view evident in this Curio solo show as the duo have imagined a particular scenario, like the set of a film, in which the action is about to take place. This aspect of their work is further emphasized by their new concept of Performing Design with which the designers go a step further to actively suggest a narrative centered on the objects exhibited.
If in Milan NO SEX was a refuge from media-fueled desires, this time it is the ultimate environment for psychological confrontation, Biagetti and Baldassari’s interpretation of Sigmund Freud’s studio - but with a twist. The space itself contains all the expected elements, although the deceptively familiar surroundings are not innocently functional but rather tease the viewer, thus provoking new kinds of behavior around the perception of what sexy is, and around the idea of contemporary design. Every analyst’s studio needs an analyst and here it is not one but two: the dreamlike environment is completed by its fantastical inhabitants the twin sisters Elena and Giulia Sella of DesignByGemini who, as part of the design performance will “analyze” the visitors and their hidden desires regarding sex in design.
All NO SEX pieces are unique, some are one of a kind and some are numbered limited editions. Each item is researched, designed and executed with the utmost attention to detail, a characteristic of the work of Biagetti and Baldassari and of the Italian master craftsmen with whom they always choose to work.