Massimo Dutti is incorporating artistic and artisanal elements into the design of its new concept stores in Brussels, London, Vienna, Zurich and Paris. These redesigned interiors represent the brand’s natural evolution towards a more sophisticated store concept.
By embracing handcrafted materials, artisanal techniques, furniture and a shift towards more organic shapes and neutral, natural colours, the stores now convey a sense of purity that enhances the brand’s revamped image. This new look seamlessly combines all the elements to showcase Massimo Dutti’s inherent history, an integral part of the brand’s DNA.
MASSIMO DUTTI
THE INTENT OF THINGS
ZURICH
MARIE GRIESMAR
For the Art Tour project. For The Intent of Things in Zurich, Marie Griesmar is the artist selected to exhibit her artwork. Marie Griesmar is a renowned Swiss artist. Her art lies at the intersection between utopian goals and reality. Starting scuba diving at the age of nine turned Marie into a life-long devoted observer of marine life. Her skills as a diver have given her an understanding as water as a new space for creation. All her work serves as a communication tool to promote science in relation to art.
MASSIMO DUTTI
THE INTENT OF THINGS
ZURICH
Emmanuelle Indekeu, art curator for Massimo Dutti’s Art Tour Project, has forged a meaningful link between the new stores and the arts through her work. The leitmotif of The Intent of Things project is the affirmation that art cannot exist without intention: there is an underlying meaning behind everything. The artist’s job is to make this meaning blossom, either by tapping into the hidden purpose of existing objects or by drawing attention to things that are often overlooked. The artist’s intention is to transform, the object’s to exist, and the audience’s to discover.
MASSIMO DUTTI
THE INTENT OF THINGS
ZURICH
ABOUT THE ARTWORK
Installation. Fired clay. 150 x 80 x 70 cm. During a three-month residency at KAUST, a university in Saudi Arabia, Marie Griesmar had the opportunity to learn about the coral reef habitat and what is required when creating durable artificial structures. To design the sculptures, Griesmar drew inspiration from the patterns and geometric shapes found in corals, sponges and other reef organisms. The sculptures are made out of fired clay, providing a large, adhesive surface on which the corals thrive. Each piece can be thought of as a new type of artificial reef and, when placed on the ocean floor, provides a welcoming canvas for corals to flourish and thrive.
As a devoted diver, the underwater world and the complexity and poetry of water is one of Marie Griesmar’s primary sources of inspiration. Her skills as a diver have given her an understanding as water as a new space for creation. She displays her multifaceted work, which is imbued with formal, ecological and narrative research, through sculptures, paintings, installations and publications. Besides being an artist, Marie Griesmar is also co-founder of “rrreefs”, an innovative environmental start-up committed to the noble cause of rebuilding damaged coral reefs, further underscoring her commitment to nature.
