Bruce Chatwin’s final work, written shortly before his death while he was suffering from an illness, tells the story of Kaspar Utz, a Czech collector of Meissen porcelain figurines. He is able to keep his collection, unscathed, through the Nazi occupation and the Communist regime. Kaspar’s perverse ties to his delicate statues trap him in the regime, because he does not want to with the collection. Chatwin meets him in Prague, where he was writing an article on Emperor Rudolph. He masterfully traces the profile, investigating the melancholy mood of the collector. Collecting manifests an accumulation of varied, improbable objects, often degenerating into crazed tendencies. Figurines are the most frequently collected, from tin soldiers to cloth dolls, and insects and animals in porcelain, ceramics, glass and even paper. We have decided not to focus on collectors, but on the artists and designers that create figurines using varied materials to highlight the modernity of these artistic subjects.

Cristina Morozzi

Bruce Chatwin’s final work, written shortly before his death while he was suffering from an illness, tells the story of Kaspar Utz, a Czech collector of Meissen porcelain figurines. He is able to keep his collection, unscathed, through the Nazi occupation and the Communist regime. Kaspar’s perverse ties to his delicate statues trap him in the regime, because he does not want to with the collection. Chatwin meets him in Prague, where he was writing an article on Emperor Rudolph. He masterfully traces the profile, investigating the melancholy mood of the collector. Collecting manifests an accumulation of varied, improbable objects, often degenerating into crazed tendencies. Figurines are the most frequently collected, from tin soldiers to cloth dolls, and insects and animals in porcelain, ceramics, glass and even paper. We have decided not to focus on collectors, but on the artists and designers that create figurines using varied materials to highlight the modernity of these artistic subjects.

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The Moodboarders is a glance into the design world, which, in all of its facets, captures the extraordinary even within the routine. It is a measure of the times. It is an antenna sensitive enough to pick-up on budding trends, emerging talents and neglected aesthetics. Instead of essays, we use brief tales to tune into the rhythm of our world. We travelled for a year without stopping, and seeing as the memory of this journey has not faded, we have chosen to edit a printed copy. We eliminated anything episodic, ephemeral or fading, maintaining a variety of articles that flow, without losing the element of surprise, the events caught taking place, and the creations having just bloomed.