About Vienna

As a design studio with interests in the elevation of the everyday domestic sphere to that of art object, we see our artistic roots in the rich decorative art tradition of Vienna.

The city is full of elements that resonate with, and inspire, our desire to integrate decoration and functionality.  The signs of the Wiener Werkstaette and the Seccession are evident throughout the city.  Less evident is the breach that occurred during the 1930s and 1940s.  But, the work of many of the contemporary Viennese artists today can be seen within this on-going story of reaction, creativity, suppression and re-emergence.

Nina Levett’s work on textiles, wallpapers and interior furnishing follows from the work of artists and designers such as Hoffmann, Klimt and Moser, but also reflects the earlier interests of architects such as von Falke who clearly saw the home as a force for social control and cultural expression.  The concepts which flow within all of the experimentation in decorative arts in Vienna during the last century have profoundly influenced her responses to the objects around her and provide the intellectual, if not the literal, inspiration for much of what she does.

A key element of Hoffmann’s Gesamtkunstwerk was the elevation of all of the elements of the interior to the status of art object, whilst at the same time, producing recognizably functional household objects.  This has been a key concept in Nina Levett’s work, most notably with her cutlery and crockery sets that are currently on display at the MAK, Vienna.  Designed to be completely functional items, they are, at the same time, high-end art objects that seek to objectify and explore the darker elements of the domestic sphere they are designed for.

Our aim is to allow art to enter the lives of people through small objects of daily use.

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