All-Encompassing – Futures Collective presented by Spence & Lyda

As part of Melbourne Design Week 2022, Spence & Lyda presents Futures Collective at Villa Alba Museum in Kew. Bringing together the work of both local and international creatives and makers in an exceptional showcase of contemporary design, Spence & Lyda describe it as a “multi-faceted sustainability narrative for our time” exhibited against a backdrop of significant, heritage architecture.

The exhibition features work from award-winning local designers Jon Goulder, Broached Commissions, Fiona Lynch Office, and Authentic Design Alliance, alongside acclaimed international designers Álvaro Catalán de Ocón and Lucy Kurrein, and more. Visitors will also find works by Australian digital printmaking artist Sophia Szilagyi, multidisciplinary artist and sculptor Greg Penn, and contemporary landscape artist Eduardo Santos, presented by Melbourne based art gallery Otomys. Taking over the heritage listed mansion, the exhibition presents as a series of unfolding experiences; each space features a curated body of work guided by the Melbourne Design Week theme, Design the World You Want.

Taking over the heritage listed mansion, the exhibition presents as a series of unfolding experiences; each space features a curated body of work guided by the Melbourne Design Week theme, Design the World You Want.

In collaboration with Jon Goulder, Fiona Lyda and the Spence & Lyda team launch Innate 2.0 – a collection of furniture crafted from Tasmanian oak and blackwood, finely honed dark stone and black powder coated steel with punctuations of brass. The design language is inherently minimal and elegant, with a distinct lightness achieved through a lean use of materials and desirable proportions. These pieces appear throughout Villa Alba as various iterations of the same concept – a console at the entrance sets the tone for the exhibition; a side table highlights the brilliant circular drawer detail; and a desk anchors the collection.

Broached Commissions presents the second edition of Broached Recall – a collection of tables and monoliths in heritage timber veneers from Elton Group’s archive. Linear and geometric, the intricacies of these pieces are easily perceptible upon interaction; detachable, magnetic handles reveal hidden storage compartments, and interesting timber grains incite curiosity. The richness of these sculptural and functional pieces is amplified against the decorative architecture of Villa Alba. The same room features one of Álvaro Catalán de Ocón’s sustainably made rugs from his collection Plastic Rivers, produced in collaboration with ACdO and GAN Rugs. Hand-tufted and crafted without knots from recycled plastic debris, each rug depicts an aerial image of the planet’s most polluted rivers.

Futures Collective presented by Spence & Lyda during Melbourne Design Week 2022. Photo: Sean Fennessy. Greg Penn curated by Otomys on display at Futures Collective presented by Spence & Lyda during Melbourne Design Week 2022. Photo: Sean Fennessy.