On January 30th in Barcelona, CASA SEAT will open “La Superficie Absoluta”, an exhibition that compares the artistic and authorial themes promoted by HoperAperta with the industrial design of CUPRA.
A path that explores the role of the surface in transmitting sensory experiences that inspire the CUPRA brand for its projects.
The space inaugurated in 2020 by the SEAT Group in the heart of Barcelona in Paseo de Gracia, 109, chooses to open the year with “La Surface Absoluta”, an ambitious exhibition that compares two languages: the artistic and authorial one produced by HoperAperta and that of industrial design of the Cupra Research Center. A project conceived as a path for two voices, where art and industrial design coexist, in which the performative potential of the surface is explored, its ability to transmit sensory experiences.
The proposed itinerary, which crosses three floors of the building, explores the transformation of the surface from solid to liquid attributes, from which the CUPRA brand draws inspiration for its projects. In this way, twenty works of different formats and languages are related to some pieces created by the automotive brand’s design team to show the relationship between art and industrial design.
The Contemporary Art of HoperAperta
CASA SEAT has entrusted the artistic part of the exhibition to Patrizia Catalano and Maurizio Barberis, curators of HoperAperta, the cultural platform launched in April 2019 on the occasion of Milan Design Week, dedicated to contemporary applied arts experienced as a synthesis of design, architecture and visual arts .
HoperAperta has contributed works by various authors, architects and artists, who explore the theme of the surface with heterogeneous languages. In the intentions of HoperAperta, each author and each work on display brings an original contribution to the exhibition, offering an interesting representation of current artistic production.
On display for HoperAperta: Analogia Project, Maurizio Barberis, Armando Bruno and Alberto Torres, Alfonso Femia, Cristina Fiorenza, Duccio Grassi, Tiziano Guardini, Mariano Martín, Alessandro Melis and Liyth Musallam, Aldo Parisotto and Palmalisa Zantedeschi, Matteo Pellegrino, Steve Piccolo, Davide Valoppi, Carmelo Zappulla.
The design codes of CUPRA’s future
The CUPRA Design team offers the visitor a unique experience, showing elements such as fabrics, prototypes and color samples that are part of the designers’ creative process. The best user experience of CUPRA vehicles is given by functionality and sensory experience. As Francesca Sangalli, Color&Trim manager of SEAT and CUPRA explains:
The intent of this exhibition is to seek a common ground between art and design. The research that underlies the definition of CUPRA design codes is not only useful and necessary, but it can also become attractive to create an emotional bond between brand and user
CUPRA pieces are divided into two spaces: CORE and FLUID. In the CORE zone, which refers to the solid, the CUPRA Design team studies progressive ways to redefine authenticity through innovative processes, sustainable materials and digital technologies.
The FLUID zone focuses on the role of surfaces to highlight muscularity, sculpturally taut surfaces, attractive skin, attributes that invite tactile exploration. In this context where the surface is the absolute protagonist, light defines the new dimension of CUPRA design which demonstrates how immaterial attributes can be more powerful and expressive than physical things.
On neutral, non-chromatic surfaces and materials, the CUPRA Design team adds a layer of vibrant digital chromatic light. Intense color, movement and digital light become new design elements that create an immersive digital aura.
The exhibition can be visited free of charge from 30 January during the opening hours of the space, which will also offer free guided tours by reservation.
