Berlin Design Week 2024 – Uprising Fusion
The collaboration between German textile designer Silvia Wald and Cuban wood artist Aliu Gonzales leads to a collection of new furniture. This creative partnership finds its roots in the shared experiences of the artists, shaped by childhoods under a communist regime where the reuse and transformation of materials played a central role.
Aliu Gonzales infuses the timeless charm of the 1960s into his furniture pieces, inspired by his childhood memories of vibrant Cuba. His furniture not only expresses this bygone era but also reflects the longing for that time and the hope for a return to his homeland.
Silvia Wald, known for her quirky textile objects, addressed the uprising with archaic weaponry and the riots on Labor Day in Berlin in her collection Aufstand. From this series, Wald and Gonzales use the textile cobblestones to upholster the seating surfaces of their furniture. Taking it a step further, they replace the soft seating with hard granite stones.
The design philosophy of reuse and transformation not only influences the creative processes of Wald and Gonzales but also imbues each piece of furniture with deep symbolic meaning. In this way the Granite Chair becomes more than just a seating piece—it tells stories of the past, present, and future.