Laurids Gallée (*1989) is an Austrian designer who opened his own studio in Rotterdam, the Netherlands in 2017. While the designer names resin as his favorite material to work with to date, despite its non-traditional nature, he’s eager to continue experimenting with others.
Gallée graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2015. He worked in the studio of designer Chris Kabel and learned various production techniques, in craftsmanship, art and design production. In his work, the designer explores traditional and folkloric elements and connect them by using modern materials and advanced manufacturing techniques. The result is an exciting fusion that combines the old and the new. In his work, the designer places a special emphasis on colour and strong lines.
His work builds on personal interest, but it is however important to convey a sense of surprise or wonder. His wooden works aim to remind someone of traditional craftsmanship, that it is clearly visible what this work is built on, while still being undoubtedly placed in the contemporary. It supposed to act as a sort of bridge, a traditional/contemporary hybrid, embracing both, the future and the past.
The designer’s early work sheds light on lesser-known techniques, some of which are disappearing. For example, a set of wall-mounted cord lamps, commissioned for Vienna Design Week, resulted from a collaboration with a Vienna-based workshop that specializes in producing passementerie, an ornate embellishment for garments and furniture that gained popularity in 16th-century France. Another project, called Paravent, merges traditional craft-making and modern laser-cutting technology to create decorative screens. Additionally, Gallée’s Patras project draws inspiration from his family’s history, specifically his grandfather’s time in the German army, and features lamps concealed behind curtains made of hand-dyed polyester threads.
