Political, ethical, subversive, ecological, humorous: this is how I see my duty as a creator.
Despite more than 10 000 creations – completed or in the making – his global fame and his tireless protean inventiveness, he never forgets the essential. Philippe Starck has a mission and a vision: creation, whatever shape it takes, must make life better for the largest number of people possible. Starck believes this highly poetic, political, rebellious, benevolent, pragmatic and subversive duty must be borne by all and he resumes it with the humor that has accompanied his approach since the earliest days: “No one is forced to be a genius, but everyone has to take part.” This citizen of the world, who considers it his duty to share his ethical and subversive vision of a fairer planet, creates unconventional places and objects whose purpose is to be “good” before being beautiful. His profound comprehension of contemporary mutations, his enthusiasm for imagining new lifestyles, his determination to change the world, his devotion to positive de-growth, his love of ideas, his desire to defend the intelligence of usefulness – and the usefulness of intelligence – have accompanied one iconic creation after the other… From everyday products such as furniture and citrus-squeezers, to revolutionary mega-yachts, hotels and restaurants that aspire to be wondrous, stimulating and intensely vibrant places, Starck never ceases in pushing the boundaries and requirements of contemporary design. From individual windmills, to a smart thermostat, electric bikes, or innovative and ecological wooden prefabricated houses – soon to be followed by solar boats and space tourism habitation modules, his technological miracles are vectors of democratic ecology, focused on action and a respect for the future of both humans and nature. Predicting the phenomena of convergence and dematerialization, Philippe Starck has always devised objects that demand the most from the least. The solutions provided by his dreams are so vital, so essential that he was the first Frenchman to be invited to speak at the legendary TED conferences. Inventor, creator, architect, designer, artistic director, Philippe Starck is all of the above, but above all he is a man of honesty, in the purest tradition of the Renaissance artists.
La sua profonda comprensione delle trasformazioni contemporanee, il suo entusiasmo nell’immaginare stili di vita nuovi, la sua risolutezza nel cambiare il mondo, la sua devozione a una decrescita positiva, il suo amore per le idee, il suo desiderio di difendere l’intelligenza dell’utilità – e l’utilità dell’intelligenza – hanno accompagnato, una dopo l’altra, ogni sua creazione iconica… Da prodotti della quotidianità, quali mobilia e spremiagrumi, fino a mastodontici yacht rivoluzionari, hotel e ristoranti che aspirano a essere posti di meraviglia, di stimolo e di vivida intensità, Starck non smette mai di valicare i limiti e le esigenze del design contemporaneo. Dalle turbine eoliche individuali al termostato intelligente, passando per le bici elettriche e per le innovative ed ecologiche case prefabbricate in legno – che presto saranno seguite da barche solari e da moduli abitativi per il turismo spaziale, i suoi miracoli tecnologici sono portatori di ecologia democratica, focalizzata sull’azione e su un rispetto per il futuro sia degli umani sia della natura. Predicendo i fenomeni di convergenza e di dematerializzazione, Philippe Starck ha da sempre progettato oggetti che richiedono il più dal meno.
“Bottega Ghianda è molto speciale perché è una poesia permanente. Romeo Sozzi è di un’altra epoca, di un altro pianeta, ha un’altra logica, tutto è incredibilmente poetico e intelligente quando si lavora con lui”
PHILIPPE STARCK