Collection: Emanuel Gargano
Emanuel Gargano is an Italian artist and designer with an atelier in his hometown of Assisi and a studio in London, where he moved after graduating from ISIA (Istituto Superiore delle Arti e dell'Industria) in Urbino. In England, he collaborates with architects and artists, fusing the concepts of 'emptiness' and 'nothingness' in space, applying his research to architecture and design, the study of light and the arts. If the London office is a design studio in its own right, in Assisi, the imprint is that of a crafts workshop, where his research is born and developed. Gargano is particularly fascinated by the impalpable nature of light, which he has tackled by creating a collection of lamps bearing his name; they are inspired by Assisi, its nature and culture. Wall, floor, table, ceiling and outdoor lamps are united by a desire not to illuminate with artificial light but rather to soften shadows or lighten darkness. Vira is a wall lamp that unfolds like a joint; it can be positioned anywhere in a room. This object - with a variable conformation depending on its angle - received an honourable mention at the Compasso d'Oro 2018.
He received another Compasso d'Oro in 2016 (with Giampiero Castagnoli and Marco Fagioli) for the 5MM line designed for Treemme Rubinetterie. The collection of taps is made up only of 5 mm thick elements - from the control levers to the water outlet, as well as the internal passage with all its mixing dynamics. The taps are realised with a technology studied down to the slightest detail to guarantee innovative aesthetics and an avant-garde look, focusing on eco-sustainability and water savings.
Gargano has been involved in the furniture world, working with brands like Emu and Amura; for the latter, he designed Palmo in 2021; it is an interpretation of the sofa conceived to restore the living room to its primary function in the home. Palmo is composed of four modular elements, which can be placed side by side to create a variety of compositions responding to different spaces and needs. Among the latest Emu projects is Cannolè, designed with Anton Cristell. This system of modular sofas is inspired by the world of knitwear, recreating the effect of a knit fabric that thickens and widens through the fully welded galvanised steel tubular structure characterising the entire collection.
In addition to the already mentioned Compassi d'Oro, Gargano also received the International Design Award, the Good Design Award, the Chicago Athenaeum, the Red Dot Design Award, the Best Communication Award, Design Plus, the German Design Award and the ADA Archiproducts Design Awards.