At this year’s Design Miami/ 2022, the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) collaborated with Mexican studio Cerámico Suro to present SCAD AT MIAMI, a stunning and immersive installation that celebrates contemporary art, culture, and craftsmanship from abroad. The group of alumni students, including Nicolas Barrera, Lauren Clay, Gonzalo Hernandez, Cory Imig, Abel Macias, and Nikita Nagpal, traveled to Guadalajara to create their collections of glazed tiles with guidance from Cerámica Suro artisans. The tiles would later be displayed at the SCAD AT MIAMI installation where a different collection would be presented each day. SCAD alum Marcelo Suro enhanced the space with his new lighting and furniture designs.
Savannah College of Art and Design President Paula Wallace with Alumni Abel Macias, Nikita Nagpal, Marcelo Suro, Nicolas Barrera, Lauren Clay, Gonzalo Hernandez, and Cory Imig
Nicolas Barrera on his booth concept: “Inspired by the simplicity and strength of the arch, the shape of this year’s SCAD Booth provides an intimate space for visitors to immerse into the work done by a series of SCAD alumni. Within the space, a field of hanging tiles – changed daily –showcases the designs of each alum. This ever-changing, ephemeral experience creates a unique space for visitors to explore daily. The pattern of the frontal tiles pays tribute to the sombrero vueltiao – a traditional Colombian hat – through the abstraction of the hats’ distinct patterning and striping. The terracotta scale-like tiles were left raw to celebrate the craft of tile making and the richness of the material, yet purposely glazed in areas to create implied stripes for the eye to discover. The raw terracotta tiles are juxtaposed with a smooth frosted polycarbonate barrel. This contrast allows for a dialogue between older craft techniques and modern architectural methods, representing the constant back-and-forth between my Colombian roots and my contemporary style. Additionally, the translucency of the barrel allows light to shine through and lets the hanging tiles be center stage.”
Nicolas Barrera
Nicolas Barrera on his tile design concept: “The reds of Caño Cristales, the oranges of the sand in la Guajira, the bright greens of the Valle del Cocora, the deep greens of the amazon, and the dark blues of the pacific coast; all pay tribute to the diversity of Colombia. Even though it might be considered a small country, Colombia is significant in its landscapes, people, and culture. I aim with this installation to bring people closer to my country and showcase Colombia’s beauty.”
Abel Macias
Abel Macias on his tile design concept: “For me, tiles can have a glossy vibrant quality that reflect color like a gem. So because of that, I used color as the main visual impact for my designs for installation at Design Miami/. Nature is always a source of inspiration and by inverting the colors on every other tile, this creates an undulating checkerboard landscape pattern that works abstractly.”
Lauren Clay
Lauren Clay on her tile design concept: “My tile designs for the booth at SCAD at MIAMI, originate from enlarged images of marbled paper, which I make using traditional methods. In my work, I use paper marbling to create patterns which I incorporate in wallpaper installations, and in editioned sculptures. My booth installation incorporates five mirrored pairs of marbled tiles, which can be arranged in many different configurations. The tiles are printed using a substrate printer, which prints with ceramic glaze, directly onto the tiles. The tiles are finished with hand-painted airbrushed gradients of blue, violet, aqua and chartreuse. I like the feeling of weight and depth that the colorful gradients add to the marbling. The tiles are arranged in a diamond formation, radiating out from the center of the booth’s ceiling.”
Cory Imig
Cory Imig on her tile design concept: “The design of my tiles for the SCAD Miami booth is made up of bright and bold pops of colors that intersect together in a variety of geometric patterns. Hanging together the tiles create an immersive color environment echoing the colors, shapes, and forms in the architecture of Miami’s Art Deco District in South Beach.”
Gonzalo Hernandez
Gonzalo Hernandez on his design concept: “The idea comes from a video-performance I made with confetti paper; the video was a sequence of self-portraits with confetti falling from the sky. I tried to represent that moment of success that happens when the confetti fall in an important moment of celebration. Based on that video I thought of suspending that moment for the tiles and generate a kind of pause where the confetti are suspended about to fall.”
Nikita Nagpal
Nikita Nagpal on her tile design concept: “I’ve always been inspired by optical illusions and the movement in patterns that we see within these illusions. I constructed and deconstructed simple shapes to create a similar sense of movement within the most basic geometric patterns for the tiles. The results were very fascinating.”
Marcelo Suro on his furniture and lighting design concepts: “Fools gold, a series of side lamps that juxtaposes the rigidity and strength of cast bronze with the looseness and sketch-like quality of forms that aren’t typically associated with the material in question. Up is down unfolds the limits between materials by seamlessly integrating fused glass and glazed ceramic, in this series of subtly playful side tables while exploring the small-scale productive potential of Guadalajara. Edition of 4 tables per arrangement.”
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