Family Matter

1+1 design gallery presents an exhibition that focuses both on the legacy of Yugoslavian architect Niko Kralj and on the new works of the English artist Will West, sharing a common feature: a close, familiar, relationship with material; wood for Kralj, marble for West. Kralj’s work is shown for the first time in Italy after the architect’s participation in the Triennale in 1957 and 1973. Historical pieces will be exhibited together with documents from the Kralj Archive, in collaboration with the Museum of Architecture and Design, Ljubljana, Slovenia. Will West, after his last solo exhibition “Making Relics” (2016), is presenting new works: a series of sculptures created with scraps from processing marble, exploring the subjects of error and discard. “Family Matter” describes a familial bond. Niko Kralj’s father was a carpenter, so wood was an obvious choice when he came to create his own designs. Will West never used marble until he moved to Italy and established a studio in the marble factory of his wife’s family, but it became naturally his material of choice. 1+1 design gallery founder, Andrea Scarabelli, has Slovenian origins. Kralj’s Rex chair was always present in his old family’s photos, even before he was able to recognize it in design catalogues.