paola navone's 'one off' at merci, paris

paola navone’s ‘one off’ at merci, paris image courtesy of merci

‘one off’ by paola navone merci, paris august 31st to september 26th, 2009

1000 kg of porcelain crockery produced by the famous tuscan factory of richard ginori (since 1735) are put into the hands of paola navone. the white porcelain ‘seconds’ are given a new and colorful look, transformed by merci gallery into one-of-a-kind pieces. the reinterpreted, decorated and renewed pieces will be exhibited and also on sale, each sold by weight – prices per kilo depending on the item for purchase. available are mugs, plates, decorative objects, soup tureens, dishes, jugs etc.

the exhibition cum sale will be set-up below the glass roof of merci, surrounded by an interior which will evoke the workshops of tuscany and the expertise of richard ginori.

earlier this year, paola navone designed a special setting for ‘taste lounge’ as a stage with a spotlight on the richard ginori 1735 collection at milan design week 09.

image courtesy of merci

image courtesy of merci

more glaze experimentation and their color codes image courtesy of merci

image courtesy of merci

each piece is marked and indicates that they are one-offs image courtesy of merci

image courtesy of merci

image courtesy of merci

image courtesy of merci

image courtesy of merci

image courtesy of merci

bold number decals and metallic glaze are also used image courtesy of merci

a plate series of numbers from 0 through 6 image courtesy of merci

image courtesy of merci

the glaze is applied in a painterly approach image courtesy of merci

image courtesy of merci

image courtesy of merci

image courtesy of merci

graphic dot pattern image courtesy of merci

image courtesy of merci

paola navone graduated from the politecnico in torino, in architecture. during the 70s and 80s she worked alongside such names as alessandro mendini, ettore sottsass jr., and andrea branzi. she currently lives and works in milan.