Georges Zigrand Design Consultancy

Within the framework of European Capital of Culture 2022, held in Esch-sur-Alzette (Luxembourg), I have curated and designed the exhibition ‘Metalworks, designing & making’ at the Konschthal in the city of Esch.
Esch was at the center of the European steel industry over the past hundred years or so and its heritage is shaped by the industry, offering an very poignant context to the exhibition subject.

For this project some forty contemporary design objects have been selected and divided into sixteen fabrication categories, each one of them exploring a particular method of processing metal.

Highlighting the diversity inherent to the material and the creative approaches, the different categories range from craft to high-tech. Each object has been carefully chosen for its intrinsic qualities and for its strong visual expression: They explicitly illustrate the manufacturing process by way of their form or finishing.

The exhibition illustrates how a material in combination with creativity and technical innovation lead to countless formal possibilities and encourage new exploration.

Participating designers:
Ron Arad, Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Destroyers/Builders, Christophe De la Fontaine ( Dante Goods and Bads), Tom Dixon, Konstantin Grcic, Thomas Heatherwick, Jakob Jørgensen, Xavier Lust, Sigve Knutson, Max Lamb, Joris Laarman Lab, Philippe Malouin, Muller van Severen, PELLE, Lewis Power, Maarten van Severen, Studio Swine, Jonas Trampedach, Danny Venlet, Michael Young, Oskar Zieta.

Additionally, the Konschthal has edited a book in conjunction with the exhibition, published by London based Sternberg Press and available here: sternberg-press.com/product/metalworks/

Curation, exhibition scenography & design: Georges Zigrand Design Consultancy
Co-curator: Charlotte Masse, Konschthal
Graphic design: Laurent Daubach / Designbureau