Highlights
- Michael Anastassiades has designed a line of occasional furnishings for Herman Miller
- New furniture by Anastassiades for Herman Miller is being previewed in Milan during Salone del Mobile 2016
- Anastassiades’s “The Double Dream of Spring” installation showcases his minimal new designs for Herman Miller
Coinciding with Salone del Mobile 2016, Herman Miller presents The Double Dream of Spring, an environmental installation by London-based designer Michael Anastassiades. To debut his inaugural collection of occasional furnishings created exclusively for Herman Miller, Anastassiades has conceived an enigmatic environment inspired by the tradition of metaphysical surrealism and steeped in his own minimalist aesthetic. The Double Dream of Spring is on view at Herman Miller at Corso Garibaldi 70 in Milan’s Brera district from 12-16 April 2016.
For The Double Dream of Spring, Anastassiades recast the architecture of the Herman Miller showroom in Milan as a neutral, rational backdrop in which to display furniture. In the space, his elegant and spare Spot stools and Stasis tables for Herman Miller are shown in walnut and white oak paired with a carefully considered shade of brass, complemented by monumental lighting sculptures created by Michael Anastassiades—the designer’s eponymous brand—especially for this installation.
Materials play a key role in the designer’s work, and are integral to the design process itself. Anastassiades favors materials that are presented honestly, with exquisite details and flawless connections—a hallmark of his work. He states, “When an object is made out of only a handful of elements, you have to make each one absolutely perfect.” In choosing to work with Herman Miller, he found a partner that could execute his vision at this level.
With The Double Dream of Spring, Herman Miller invites guests from the design industry and public at large to experience the results of Anastassiades’s quest for perfection in person during Milan Design Week 2016.
Michael Anastassiades launched his studio in 1994 to explore contemporary notions of culture and aesthetics through a combination of product, furniture, and environmental design. Positioned between fine art and design, his work aims to provoke dialogue, participation, and interaction. Anastassiades' work is featured in permanent collections at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Crafts Council in London, the FRAC Centre in Orleans, France and the MAK in Vienna. He has designed products with various leading manufacturers including FLOS, Puiforcat, Lobmeyr, Svenskt Tenn, and now Herman Miller. In 2007 he set up MICHAEL ANASTASSIADES—the company—to produce his signature pieces, a collection of lighting, furniture, jewelry and tabletop objects. The studio's philosophy is a continuous search for eclecticism, individuality, and timeless qualities in design. Michael trained as a civil engineer at London's Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine before taking a masters degree in industrial design at the Royal College of Art. He lives and works in London.
About The Herman Miller Collection
In 1948, George Nelson created the first Herman Miller Collection, with the goal of "a permanent collection designed to meet fully the requirements for modern living.” He understood that the Collection would evolve as human behavior changed and new materials and manufacturing technologies emerged. Today’s modern living embraces the blending of life and work, with greater appreciation for contemporary design and mobile and ubiquitous technologies offering new freedom of choice in where and how people express their lifestyles and pursue their professions. The Herman Miller Collection welcomes and enriches this new era, as Herman Miller endeavors to realize Nelson’s vision for the modern home, office, and public spaces.
About Herman Miller
Herman Miller is a globally recognized provider of furnishings and related technologies and services. Headquartered in West Michigan, the global company has relied on innovative design for over 100 years to solve problems for people wherever they work, live, learn, and heal. Herman Miller’s designs are part of museum collections worldwide, and the company is a past recipient of the Smithsonian Institution's Cooper Hewitt National Design Award. Known and respected for its leadership in corporate social responsibility, Herman Miller has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the past 12 years, and has earned the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s top rating in its Corporate Equality Index for the past eight years. In fiscal 2015, the company generated $2.14 billion in revenue and employed over 7,000 people worldwide. Herman Miller trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol MLHR.