Draga & Aurel: transparency is an attitude

It’s hard to define Draga & Aurel in a single word. No word has yet been coined to sum up their way of working in a variety of different fields that somehow connect, contaminate and overlap one another: design, art, crafts, and regeneration, creating items of furniture, lamps, tables, chairs, even paintings and vintage furnishings revived in unique ways. Draga Obradovic is Serbian, and Aurel K. Basedow is German, but both of them have been living in Italy for many years and studied at the Fine Arts Academy in Florence. They have always loved working with their hands – carpentry, fabrics, resins – and started seeking out second-hand furniture to reclaim. Draga tells me about their many-sided business as we stroll through the vast spaces of their workshop and atelier in Como, while their co-workers and Basedow himself move pieces and components around, assemble them, smooth them over and polish them. Aurel’s big paintings lean against the walls, surrounded by tables, already completed, with resin tabletops and frames waiting for assembly. And so I realise that the spirit of their atelier is that of a Renaissance workshop, where the artists create works on commission, invent new techniques, get their hands dirty, plan, mould, paint and construct things.

Draga & Aurel’s relationship with resin dates back several years: “We were already using it for vintage furniture in 2006. We used it on the surfaces, because at that time we were simply reclaiming things, also using the fabrics I created. Then we started working with furniture companies who asked us to make items for them, in which resin plays a key role. The casting technique allows us to control colours and shapes. Aurel also uses resin in her big paintings, stratified with a variety of other materials to create unique effects.” But they have not stopped reclaiming furniture, or rather, regenerating it to give it new life: this is a particular feature of what Draga & Aurel do. As is apparent in the Heritage collection, which they began in 2007, including more than 1000 original items from all over the world. Credenzas, chairs, armchairs, chests of drawers and consoles are deconstructed, taken apart, then restored and interpreted with new materials and finishes, including silkscreens and embroidery. And here too, resin plays a key role.

The two art designers (or design artists) have just come back from Nomad Capri, a travelling showcase of collectible design, with Rossana Orlandi. Nina Yashar of Nilufar also exhibits their pieces, and specifically The Candy Box capsule collection: a table, a lamp and a bedside table in bright candy colours. “We never stop growing,” concludes Draga, “with one-of-a-kind items and limited editions for galleries, companies, or just for ourselves. Transparency has become the key to our creativity”.

Antonella Galli

Photo captions and credits
Images courtesy of Draga & Aurel

01 Portrait of Draga & Aurel (Draga Obradovic, Aurel K. Basedow). Credits: Piero Gemelli
02, 07: Transparency Matters collection, at Galleria Rossana Orlandi, Milano Design Week 2022. Credits: Riccardo Gasperoni
03 Draga & Aurel, atelier. Credits: Fabrizio Cicconi
04 Golia Lunch, luncheon table, 2022. Transparency Matters collection. Credits: Federica Lissoni
05 Elliott vintage credenza, one-of-a-kind item, 2022. Heritage collection. Credits: Federica Lissoni
06 Joy Circle (lampada da muro), 2022. Transparency Matters collection. Credits: Federica Lissoni
08 Cala Coffee Table, resin and cement, Nomad Capri (2022), Transparency Matters collection. Credits Lorenzo Butti
09 Golia Coffee Table, resin and cement, Galleria Rossana Orlandi, Milano Design Week 2021. Transparency Matters collection. Credits: Riccardo Gasperoni
10 Reverso partition, Transparency Matters collection. Credits Riccardo Gasperoni
11 Bert vintage credenza, one-of-a-kind item, 2022. Heritage collection. Credits: Federica Lissoni
12 Cala Bench, 2021. Credits: Federica Lissoni
13 and 14 The Candy Box collection, Nilufar Depot, Milano Design Week 2022. Credits: Riccardo Gasperoni

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