[Translate to english:] Möbel- und Produktdesigner, München / Bayern

 

If one doesn’t know how to categorize a designer, this itself might already reveal an instance of true innovation. Markus Benesch’s designs are situated somewhere between furn i t u re design and wallpaper graphics – with strong echoes of the Pop and Op Art eras. In Colorflage, large- surface wallpapers and wall panels with which rooms can be articulated or simply attractively decorated, overall patterns optically change the proportions of the space. By applying this alienation effect – which remotely recalls the Picture Line kitchen series from Alno, as well as exhibiting parallels to the total works of art of the Jugendstil days, such as those executed by Peter Behrens – Benesch casts doubt on the traditional separation of room and furnishings. To this end, he makes use of striking surface finishes for tables, cabinet furniture, lamps and walls. Foomy, on the other hand, a series of seating elements made of foam, consists of discrete pieces of furn i t u re. The lightweight objects are not only remarkable for their colourful stripes, but also due to their versatility. Whether it takes the form of a six-sided screw or a Y- shaped chair, each piece still functions as a seat even when turned on its head. The same kind geometry-based versatility can be found in the turned stool Scaboo. Benesch, a commuter between Munich and Milan, has designed interiors and trade fair stands and has worked for design-oriented companies such as wallpaper- maker Rasch and the Italian lamination specialist Abet Laminati. For Memphis in Milan he recently conceived a comprehensive interior decor program called La Casa di Alice. Included are not only lamps, wallpaper, carpets and matching clothes, but also
furniture, such as a rotating column-shaped chest of drawers with mirrors inside called Torre di Alice, which is available either with a monumental pattern of intertwining strands of colour or with “dancing points”. Further variety is offered by the cabinet series Strip'n'Tease, which comes with nine self-adhesive patterns; when the user gets tired of one, he can simply switch to another look.