Fabien Cappello Biography
Fabien Cappello (France, 1984) is a furniture and product designer. He completed his studies at the University of Art and Design (ECAL) in Lausanne, Switzerland and in 2009 obtained a Master's Degree in Design Products from the Royal College of Art in London under the guidance of Martino Gamper and Jurgen Bey. In 2010, Cappello founded his eponymous studio in London. The early works of Cappello's studio focus on the creative use of local resources and local production. In the period between 2010 and 2011, Cappello obtained research residencies in Korea, Portugal and Italy to work with local artisans. During this period, many of his projects involved recognizing and mapping local resources, often focusing on what is not used or evaluated as part of the design process. His productions revealed unexpected aspects of place and took an open approach to the working practices of the evolving culture. For example, his 2011 survey, in which he inventoried small industries and artisan workshops in a deprived neighborhood of Lisbon and subsequently created works representing them, was acquired by the permanent collection of the British Council. Subsequently, Cappello established his studio in London, expanding his activity to several European locations and focusing primarily on developing the practices that now form the basis of his current working methodology: "understanding design not as an isolated exercise, but as point of connection between people and their lives, production and culture, places and identities". During this period, he developed an eclectic body of work for public institutions, museums and prestigious design galleries. Some of the most iconic projects include his research as part of the Stanley Picker Fellowship, in which he investigated how local manufacturing in western Greater London can be used to create furniture for public spaces in the city of Kingston upon Thames, the staging of a lighting exhibition within the 18th century collection of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs de Bordeaux, a solo exhibition of a scenic setting in a 14th century fortress in the context of the Villa Noailles programme, a center for design in the south of France , and several special projects. His most recent presentation for Ago Projects, entitled "Artes y Oficios", which will remain open until April 2020, makes Fabien Cappello's design strategies tangible.
