folds collection /
Beginning and end, cycles and moments are the concepts Sebastián Ángeles has reflected on for the new project he presents as part of Design Week México, bringing together the harmony of symmetry, the solidity of stone, and the ethereal character of light.
A dissertation on the different ways of conceiving time inspired Folds, the most recent collection by the young Mexican designer and entrepreneur Sebastián Ángeles. The series of three utilitarian sculptures, which establish a dialogue between space and user, are the manifesto announcing his presence at Design Week México 2021.
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The Folds collection draws attention to each fragment and detail of the materials employed—such as the veining of the stone—to emphasize their beauty, while reasserting the aesthetic and sensorial principles that underlie each of Ángeles’ pieces of furniture.
The project draws on an evocation of the three concepts used by the Ancient Greeks to refer to time: Chronos, Aion and Kairos, while underpinning the timeless character so emblematic of the designer’s creations, in three elements that are based on refined forms of a profuse minimalism.
The concept of beginning and end is translated into the outline of the Chronos bench, emphasized in its design of straight, simple lines. Supported on twelve feet (measurement used for time), the piece expresses a model of order, perfection and symmetry. Seen from above, a horizontal line suggests the linear time of chronology.​
Traditionally depicted as a straight line, Chronos symbolizes the linear nature of time, with a clear beginning and end. The bench, characterized by a central straight line and supported by twelve legs, serves as a representation of Cronos himself, as well as the number twelve. The significance of twelve lies in its association with order and perfection, exemplifying absolute harmony. Moreover, this number finds omnipresence in various units of measurement. For instance, a foot consists of 12 inches, calendars and clocks are structured around the concept of twelve: twelve months in a year and twenty-four hours in a day. Additionally, each hour is divided into 5 × 12 minutes, and every minute is further divided into 5 × 12 seconds.
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The two floor lamp models in the Folds collection seek to convey the notions of Aion and Kairos in order to express the time of God, which is experienced even if it is not tangible. In the first, Aion, which refers to cycles, the constant is harmony, translated into a column that terminates internally in arches, with an upper part that slightly extends beyond the structure. Kairos, interpreted as the precise instant in which events happen, continues with the vertical arrangement on a smooth cylindrical pillar with three lateral apertures emphasizing the circular shape, in an allusion to infinity. When it is switched on, the interaction with the user is an expression of perfect instants and decisive moments.
The execution of the Folds collection is made possible thanks to partnerships with the master craftsman Nicanor Chávez and the skilled artisans of Mármoles Covarrubias, a family from Jalisco who have been working with marble for more than three generations.
With the Folds collection, Sebastián Ángeles presents functional elements that bring together the solidity of stone and the ethereal character of light, lending personality to interior design concepts and inviting conversation around the three concepts of time— beginning and end, cycles and moments—that are so fundamental to the way that human beings forge their destiny.
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Aión Lamp/ Original Design, 2021.
Cronos Bench/ Original Design, 2021.