Nacho Carbonell

Born in Valencia, Spain, Carbonell graduated in 2003 from Cardenal Herrera C.E.U. University before continuing his studies at Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands. He now continues to live in Eindhoven, where he works with a team of designers and artists from an open warehouse studio and has developed a practice that combines experimental techniques with natural materials.

Carbonell’s work explores the idea of objects as living organisms capable of emotion and surprise, creating pieces that appear both organic and otherworldly. The designer forms all his works by hand, using locally sourced materials found near his studio and elsewhere to instil each piece with personality and presence. Among his notable works are the Cocoon lamps – a series of tree-like sculptures built from steel branches and mesh-like cocoons made from a mixture of sand and textile hardener. These pieces evoke elements of magic realism, appearing to both imitate and transcend nature.

Carbonell’s work has been exhibited internationally in museums including Groninger Museum, 21_21 Design Sight, Fonds National d’Art Contemporain, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Mint Museum and MAXXI. His work One-Seater Concrete Tree is held in the permanent collection of Cincinnati Museum of Art.

Carbonell was named Designer of the Year by Architectural Digest Spain in 2013. He was recognised as Designer of the Future at Design Miami/Basel in 2009. The same year, his Evolution collection earned him a nomination for Beazley Design of the Year from the Design Museum in London. The book De Rebus Natura (Lecturis, 2015) covers seven years of work by Carbonell through an expressive overview of his distinctive style, organic forms and textural qualities. Carbonell also features in Dysfunctional: Beyond the Boundaries of Form and Function (Editions Norma, 2019) by Glenn Adamson.

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