London-based Bethan Gray is one of the UK’s most celebrated furniture and homeware designers, having been awarded four Elle Decoration British Design Awards, including the coveted Best British Designer and The Best British Tableware Designer.
Her new Installation at the Rossana Orlandi’s gallery in Milan’s Magenta district invites the public to immerse themselves into an enveloping ‘Inky Dhow’ universe of furniture, textiles, rugs, hand blown glass and ceramics, on show at
‘Inky Dhow’ is an evolution of the original ‘Dhow’ drawing Bethan first made while on a trip to Oman, which was then expertly translated into an intricate marquetry pattern by Muscat-based master craftsman Mohammad Reza Shamsian and his team of highly skilled artisans, using 16th century marquetry techniques combined with cutting-edge technology.
“Designing furniture may have been what I studied, and how I’ve forged my career for more than 20 years, but furniture is simply one of the many vehicles through which I want to express myself, ”said Bethan.:
“Using different craft techniques has allowed ‘Inky Dhow’ to grow into many things, but the most exciting thing is that while they all work as stand-alone pieces, they also harmonise beautifully together.”
Bethan Gray’s ‘Inky Dhow’ is being held at the Rossana Orlandi Gallery, Milan, June 7-12, 2022
