design news
One To Watch:
HICKORY WHITE’s Custom Elements cabinet
shop program provides an opportunity to
choose and mix a variety of looks. Available
with a wide array of custom base options,
all available with several decorator finishes
as well as a mix of stylish hardware.
Pictured is the Frank low four-door cabinet
with a double leg X-stretcher base and
shown in a warm Sable finish accented with
gold leaf striping. T: 001 828 322 8624
www.hickorywhite.com
FLORRIE AND BILL’s collaboration
with textile designer Abigail Borg sees a
somewhat gothic twist on the recurring
florals trend - Dark Blooms. Its bold and
eye-catching Botanical collection features a
palette of deep, moody hues offsetting the
delicate nature of scattered flowers for this
sultry print trend. www.florrieandbill.com
24
Bridge for Design December 2015
Volta Ceilings
is a craft collaboration between two highprofile Belgian artists, Eddy Dankers and
Thierry Thenaers, who have marked the
rediscovery of painted canvas ceilings,
writes Katy Briscoe.
First seen in classical Greece,
painting scenes on fabric became an
increasingly refined art, direct ancestor
of the illusionist ceilings of Renaissance,
Baroque and Rococo times. In the theatre
too, painted canvas has always been a
medium of magical illusion. As a bespoke
art form, it has dazzling potential for both
traditional and modern ceilings.
Eddy’s family have been artists since the
17th Century and Thierry is a renowned
master painter, operatic set designer and
interior designer. Individually, both have
worked on many of Europe’s historic
buildings, including the restoration of the
Palace of Versailles.
Inheritors and developers of the art of
painted canvas ceilings, Thierry and Eddy
set up Volta as an international interiors
brand and their teams work all over
the world. Through using old and new
techniques and technologies, they can
create anything from a perfect facsimile
of a Baroque masterpiece to a dazzling
ultra-modern trompe l’oeil ceiling. Highly
eco-sensitive; they work on natural linen
canvas, using natural casein paints, with a
passion for authentic plant and mineralpigmented colour.
Their stand at Decorex 2015 included
an extraordinary virtual reality tour, with
visitors donning advanced VR headsets
to ‘travel down’ a grand corridor allowing
them to view a series of rooms with
unique Volta ceilings. Proving that,
ancient as it is, this classical art form
has most definitely made the move into
contemporary interiors.
www.voltaceilings.com