so good : studio toogood

Natura Morta. A project by Studio Toogood, Milan 2011

One of my dear friends/colleagues and the lovley Editor of Vogue Living came across this exceptional exhibition during their visit to Milan Design Week last year. The creator of the exhibition, Faye Toogood has recently left Sydney after working on an intallation for Penfolds called The Blocks. This sparked me to post the below beautiful images of the Midnight Dinners in Milan. Truly incredible.

Natura Morta, the Italian term for “still life”, literally translates as “dead nature”. The four outsized still lifes showcased in this provocative exhibition were composed from an abstract collection of handmade and found objects designed to celebrate the darker side of the natural world. Adding to the air of the subversive, Natura Morta was held in a private Milanese apartment – the Era Studio Apartment Gallery – where Faye Toogood launched her second collection of objects: Assemblage 2. The striking pieces were displayed alongside erotic drawings from the archive of Piero Fornasetti.

Photography Tom Mannion






Midnight Dinners

During Natura Morta a series of Midnight Dinners were prepared by the Italian food designers Arabeschi di Latte under the heading Underkitchen. Guests were asked to taste simple but intriguing ingredients including eggs dyed in tea and spices that appeared as giant marbles, black rocks formed out of cheese rolled in coal, a rustic dessert made from black bread soaked in water and dark sugar, and artichoke flowers carbonised to black on the balcony of the gallery. All served with Perrier-Jouët champagne.
Working under the creative direction of Faye Toogood and incorporating beautifully abstract food styling by Francesca Sarti, photographer Marius W Hansen shot a series of powerful and provocative still lifes for each of the four rooms to further enhance the dark alchemy behind Natura Morta and Underkitchen.








All copy and images from the Studio Toogood website: studiotoogood.com