Todomuta’s cookie-cutter collection is inspired by nature
Kieron is a freelance writer and Digital Consultant who doesn't consider himself a design lover but a user of design - which to him is more than enough.
LinkedinMassless by Spanish studio Todomuta mixes aluminum with natural materials to create one-of-a-kind furniture pieces.
A recent proliferation of aluminum furnishings is highlighting the material’s sculptural qualities, its growing accessibility and its environmental credentials. Here, contemporary designers at Todomuta demonstrate its potential by shaping it to create cutting-edge designs.
On first impression, the Massless collection by Todomuta feels purely technical, like cross-sections of supersized metal extrusions adapted to become sculptural furniture. It’s an apt interpretation considering the production behind each piece, which involves an undisclosed process of bending large sheets of aluminium before adding natural materials, including marble and leather depending on their function.
Massless was commissioned by Gallery All, a contemporary design gallery based in Los Angeles with a unique program that encourages its artists to master progressive manufacturing practices. It does so by providing unique research and production capabilities, and facilitating expert craftsmanship. Taking this as a starting point, Todomuta has developed a collection of industrial furniture exploring the frontiers between art and design.
Clean lines define the collection, which features striking chairs and tables with an almost cookie-cutter aesthetic. Form and structure, which are conventionally regarded as oppositional forces, come together to construct an unfathomable unit with seamless joints that present an impression of weightlessness.
“There’s a certain metallic lyricism, a symphony of strange instruments, played by invisible performers that can only be sensed in the emptiness cast by the curves, spirals and straight lines,” the studio explains. “And it’s precisely the silhouette of that hollow that gives name to the collection. It’s not a praise of the solid but of its erroneous presumption.”
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This one-of-a-kind aluminum collection has mass appeal
Innovative shaping methods and eco-friendly credentials make aluminium a go-to for designers. It’s lightweight, durable, non-corrosive and applicable in both indoor and outdoor settings. It’s also infinitely recyclable. The intention here isn’t to promote these qualities necessarily, but it is to provoke critical thinking around the evolution of humans and our connection to nature. As such, it seems right to frame it around a new wave of aluminum designs that are taking the design world by storm.
“Through mixing metal with natural resources, Todomuta studio critically engaged with themes of technological durability and the use of nature as a means of humanization,” says Gallery All. “With the ongoing argument that society has about modernization versus nature, the collision of substances provides the basis to question the modernization of society.”
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